Engaged
by Ezra.J.Clarke
Summary: Everything was perfect - was. (I do not own pitch perfect or any of it's characters)
1. Chapter 1 - Engaged

_Engaged_

 _Present Day -_

The clouds gathered right on time in the autumn-lit sky and lightning flashed in all windows of the house, clattering glasses together with each crack of thunder. Before, the day had been cast in a dome of plasma blue, but as it came to a close, clouds appeared. Rain poured through the December skylight, pattering on the roof so loud the creaky house shook like a tent in a hurricane. The sound bounced from wall to wall and echoed the night skies' anger. The dining room was dimly lit by fading electricity. It was the only room in the house to flood with light.

Chloe and Beca both stood on the outside of the dining room door frame and down the hall. The radiance leaked just close enough to reach their faces while lightning brightened the living room on the other end. Beca was standing two feet from her fiancee, scratching at her hands with short nails, knowing what she wanted to say, but having no ability to force it from her already dry throat. Chloe saw concern in the piercing lake eyes before her. She wanted to ask why they were standing in the hall, unmoved, but the wider the pit in her stomach grew, the less she wanted to speak up.

"I love you." Beca inquired for a response, tears not yet breaking the surface of pale skin.

Her voice left Chloe's stomach turning upside down with a false sense of hope. The feeling was impassioned, cracked with the contradiction of affection and self loathing. Chloe's glassy eyes finally looked up from the blurry floor and met the other pair. It was a stare that held hands with despondency and distance, yet battled with the familiar feeling they once called home. Chloe gripped the hall table ends with her nails sliding on the oak wood. She winced at the old groves, splintering their way into her palm. "I-I love you too.. Is everything okay?" Chloe felt her hip carve into the end table.

Beca twisted the ring on her finger and Chloe's breath staggered. She studied the look on her Fiancee's face and felt her lungs collapse. Chloe sighed and her gut exploded in her body just staring at the uncertainty in Beca's eyes. Every hair on her body stood up and every inch of her skin began to tremble.

"Of course." Beca's voice was brittle, words failing her once again. One hand grasped the hem of Chloe's shirt, with tears sliding down her freckled cheek. Her fractured, coffee eyes drifted down her girlfriend's body and fell to the creaking hardwood floor under their bare feet. She shook her head and fastened her eyes shut, as her ginger bun came undone. Her grip loosened and she let go.

* * *

 _Six Months Prior -_

Ginger bangs fastened to Chloe's forehead and her ponytail infused with the rainfall. Beca ran steps in front of her girlfriend, splashing the flooded water on the ends of Chloe's jeans. The couple stumbled their way through the parking lot in sweatshirts and swept up feelings. Their smiles were crystalline festivals of bliss, yearning to be only in that moment. Dashing to the air conditioned movie theater and shivering in dampened clothes - it was all Chloe ever wanted.

The two slowed at the entrance to the theater, feeling the frigid air seeping out the doorways. They paused to catch their breath. Beca drew her hood down, revealing her already rouge face. Chloe grinned between deep breaths and they laughed at their own antics. It was in those moments that Chloe knew she had more than a girlfriend but the best friend she could ever wish for. Someone who was everything she'd ever looked for. Beca eagerly smiled at Chloe, admiring how beautiful her girlfriend was no matter what she wore. Chloe gave Beca a dorky smirk and Beca filled with butterflies. The day was perfect.

Chloe fiddled her hands in her hooded pocket, but her eyes turned from spooked to terror in a whiplash. She checked all of her pockets twice, then triple checked them. Beca looked at her girlfriend, bewildered by Chloe's actions. Chloe turned abruptly back toward the car and shuffled her way in the rain, staring at the concrete as she went. Beca followed her, "Babe, What're you doing?"

"I dropped something." Chloe mumbled, staring into puddles and making her way closer to their car.

Beca walked behind Chloe with her hood up, checking the spaces Chloe had just checked herself. "What is it? Did you leave it in the car?"

"No." The panic on Chloe's face grew rapidly.

"What am I looking for?" Beca yelled over a crack of thunder. Chloe didn't answer, but continued to retrace her steps. They made it all the way back to the car before Beca lifted Chloe's chin and repeated her question, "What am I looking for?"

Chloe looked back down, against Beca's grip and sure enough, a felt covered ring box was between their feet and right next to the car door. Chloe eyes glinted and she dove down, right into a puddle, to retrieve the item. Beca watched her girlfriend, soaked in a summer rain shower, her eyebrows suddenly rising to the event at hand. Chloe was barely on one knee, one leg submerged in water, holding as high as she could, a ring box dripping from its felt like a wet dog. Chloe glistened an endearing smile through thin lips once more, as water slipped down her face. She opened up the box with her top hand, revealing a beautiful engagement ring - a cushion cut diamond surrounded by sparkling blue stones. "I wanted to make it perfect, I mean - uhm. I've kind of just - had it for weeks, waiting for the time to ask.." Her hands were shaking, her voice stuttered. She swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled at Beca. "Will you marry me?"

Beca put her hands over her mouth like the cliche she always said she would never be, with tears streaming down her face that only she knew were there. At first she stood there, frozen in time with the girl of her dreams waiting on a response. The caption was picture perfect, but Beca's heart was standstill. She shook her head yes, wishing the fear in her stomach wasn't there. Chloe stood with the biggest smile in her eyes and slipped the ring on her now fiancee's finger, then pulled her into the happiest and the biggest, sopping wet kiss of all time.

* * *

 _Present Day -_

Chloe disappeared into the shadows of the staircase, which in the night looked like the darkness engulfed her. She went up, but not to anywhere exact - just up. Beca watched her go until she couldn't see her fiancee anymore and then she watched some more, leaning on the living room wall with tears in her eyes. She tried to think about how much of a fuss they used to make if the other tried to go to bed alone. Then she realized she couldn't remember the last time they slept in the same bed. She stared at the ring on her finger for hours now, remembering how happy they made each other once.

She wondered how she could mess up the best thing that ever happened to her and rubbed her puffy eyes once more to remove the tears. Around the room, picture frames surrounded her with happy memories and she gripped the ends of her tee shirt as she claustrophobia washed over. No matter where she looked she fond reminders of what once was and the most joyful moments made her choke up. She covered her mouth and her body convulsed as she burst into tears again, slipping down the wall and hiding in her own shell. She hated crying. But even more, she hated seeing Chloe's eyes break under the surface. She felt like she couldn't breath.

Chloe got to the top of the steps and took a deep breath of fear, which settled her huffing lungs. She turned to the spare bedroom and gently rested her hand on the knob, but stared into the room behind her back - the room they used to call theirs. The one Beca now slept in alone. She couldn't remember the last time she got to hold her fiancee. Feeling the tears boil to the surface, Chloe entered the spare bedroom and closed the door, sinking to the floor against it. Tears streamed down her face and she buried her head into her sleeve. She hated feeling so broken. It was the worst emotion she had ever experienced. She was losing her best friend and the love her life all in one go. How could everything change like this?

* * *

 _Five Months Prior -_

The girls sat at a booth with three cake samples in front of them, on the day after their engagement party. Both were dressed in the clothes they'd woken up in, sweatpants and oversized tee shirts. Beca's chocolate brown strands were tied in a messy bun and Chloe's shorter hair was pulled back by her sunglasses. They had to have been at the bakery for a half hour and they'd already tried a million different cakes to find the right one. They had even considered going to a different bakery, but the manager insisted on a lower price if they found one they liked.

"What about this one?" Beca fed Chloe a piece of chocolate cake with vanilla icing, who made a strange thinking face as she swallowed.

"Hm, I don't know, babe." Chloe took the fork from Beca's hand and picked up another piece of it. "I think I need to see what it looks like.." Before Beca could asked what Chloe meant, Chloe wiped the cake all over Beca's nose.

Beca rolled her eyes, smiled at her soon to be wife, and cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, it's on." Beca picked up a full piece of cake from another plate and smashed it in her fiancee's face. Chloe smiled and pulled Beca in for a kiss. Beca tried to push her away but eventually the two were covered in different kinds of cake, all at the same time entangled in one another.

"Did you find one you both like?" The bakery's manager dulled their moods with his snicker, as he stood a careful distance away from the mess.

Chloe looked over at her fiancee, wiped icing out off her cheek, and laughed. "I think we both like this one."

"Should I mark it down then?" The girls could tell he was bothered by their lengthened presence.

Beca got out of their booth and pulled Chloe up behind her. "I actually think we'll come back again. We haven't even picked a day yet."

Chloe's eyes pondered the floor, her smile slowly undoing itself.

* * *

 _Present Day -_

Chloe tossed and turned on the spare bed, watching Beca's shadow pass back and forth over the flooding light under the door. She wondered what Beca was up to on the other side, but ultimately rathered not find out. If it meant starting another fight, Chloe would avoid it. Instead, she watched the door with haunted eyes bruised by sleeplessness and wonder.

* * *

 _Three Months Prior_

In the calm of night, the house was all but still. From down the street, neighbors could hear the fight. They'd been going at it for hours, nonstop, slamming doors and reopening them to keep the fight going. Neither side would let it go or swallow their pride. "Seriously, why can't we get through one night without fighting?" Chloe threw her hands down then pulled them up to rub her eyes. It was getting late.

Beca sat at the dining room table, pulling her hands through her hair, feeling a migraine set in. "I don't know, Chloe." She rubbed her temples to settle the pain. "Maybe because you can't let it go?" Beca's voice strained and hands distanced farther from each other with every accusation. She didn't actually mean that.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Chloe gave her the look that always meant trouble. Beca could see it from across the room and out of the corner of her eye. It was the look that Chloe had only given her a handful of times in their life together, but one she'd gotten more since they started fighting. "Just because I want to talk?"

"Are you really serious right now? When do we ever talk Chloe? We fight, constantly! Don't you ever get sick of it? You come home, we fight. I come home, we fight. Can't we have one night that I come home and relax after work?" Beca's tongue was far from saving face after months of hiding her feelings. She was tired of the fights and tired of getting nowhere. She took a deep sigh of frustration and poured herself a glass of Absolut. "You know what, maybe I should just go."

"Oh, there it is. Leave like you always do, right?" Chloe earned herself the death glare.

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" Beca's eyes tore a hole in Chloe's soul.

Chloe let out a breath that reminded her not to say things she didn't mean. "It means," Chloe's eyes fixated on Beca's as if she didn't notice her girlfriend's glare. She took a deep breath. "It means I'm tired of fighting too. Can you just - talk to me?" Chloe was practically begging the fights to stop.

Beca leaned her chair back, stared at the ceiling, and mockingly smiled. "Talk to you? About what Chloe? I thought I WAS talking to you."

"Just tell me what's really going on, Beca." Chloe approached her fiancee with concern written across her face.

Beca took a sip of her drink and winced at the burn in her throat. Chloe shook her head and scoffed, staring at Beca. She couldn't stand watching Beca act like she didn't care.

"Go ahead Chloe. Tell me. Tell me what the hell the REAL problem is, Chloe."

"Do you even really care?" Chloe bit her nails, anticipating what deep down she wasn't ready to say.

"Of course I fucking care." Beca scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Are you fucking kidding me? After everything? I'm the one who doesn't fucking care? Go ahead Chloe! Just fucking say it! Stop fucking around with me and just -" Beca stood up and her chair fell to the ground, putting two dents in the mahogany wood.

Chloe's voice finally howled over Beca's bickering. "You don't want to get married!" She screamed. Her breath staggered. "Or you're fucking scared, as always." She mumbled afterward.

Beca finally shut her trap, speechless.

There was no going back.

Chloe looked her fiancee in the eye, her fear finally becoming true. She rolled her eyes, feeling the tears boil over the surface. Her voice cracked and she was practically whispering. She tried to stay strong. "Stop making up fucking excuses and just tell me the damn truth for once. You don't want to marry me. You're too fucking scared of commitment and you're looking for an excuse to leave." Her voice rose to the height of the situation. "If you're looking for your out, then here it is Beca. I'm sick of not deciding on a wedding date. I'm sick of pushing everything back because you can't tell me the truth. If you want out, Just leave!"

That would be the only night Beca didn't leave after they fought.

* * *

 _One Month Prior -_

Chloe pulled her car in the driveway, headlights flashing in the garage. She looked up to their room and saw the light was on. Chloe sighed and looked down at the clock on her dashboard. It was past one in the morning. Chloe shook her head and put the car in reverse, backing out of the driveway.

* * *

 _One Night Prior_ -

"You're home really late." Beca's voice was distinct, soft, casual, unsure. Her words were at the same time a bold center between assertive and timid - conscientious. A somehow overly casual greeting considering the amount of damage unsaid words had already caused their relationship. All at once ecstasy and elation set in beneath Chloe's skin, but similarly it boiled with pain and torment. "Have you been drinking?"

Chloe hated that Beca acted like nothing was going on. "Does it matter?" Chloe shuffled her messenger bag to the floor and beelined for the stairs.

"Yes? You didn't even bother to tell me where you were. We have to talk about this." Beca's words slid off her tongue like she had any control of the situation at large.

"Oh, now you want to talk? When I drink you're ready to talk?" Chloe's words slurred, but she got her point across.

Beca folded her hands. "Are you kidding? If you were ever home at night you'd know I want to talk! Then again if you were ever sober!" Beca's arms were folded, her eyes were red with tears.

Chloe stared at Beca with her nostrils flared and her fists clenched. "How many times have I asked you to talk to me?" Chloe threw her arms out. She always talked with her hands when she was mad. "Tell me what's going on! Don't shut down on me! And what did you do? You left me out! I stopped asking because you shut me out Beca. You can't blame this on me." Chloe stormed up the stairs as fast as she could without tripping over her own stumbling feet.

* * *

 _Present Day -_

Beca crumbled another piece of paper on the coffee table and threw it into a small pile in the trash can. She shook her head and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. It was passed three o'clock in the morning and she was still dressed for the previous day's work. Her eyes were full of tears. Her hair was tied into a messy bun that had practically come out. She was a disaster.

Without another word she grabbed the suitcase she packed an hour prior and crept through the door, careful not to make a sound. She took one last look at the darkness in the window of the spare bedroom. Somewhere deep inside she wanted Chloe to hear her leaving and try to chase after, but even deeper she knew that life wasn't a movie. Without another word she pushed the suitcase in the back seat and started the car, driving off to a destination she didn't even know.


	2. Chapter 2 - Three Years Later

_Three years Later_

 _Three Years Later - Present Day -_

The lettering was script, handwritten on a vanilla envelope.

"Beca Mitchell, 209 Chestnut street, Seattle, WA."

This was the third letter she had received in the same script. It was pushing eleven on a late Monday night and she had just gotten home from the studio. Continual rain streamed down the penthouse window, as it had all day. Beca sat at her desk, with the view of Seattle in front of her. Her hair was sorely tied in a bun, which had fallen half way out on her way home. She still had bruises under her eyes from lack of sleep. She sat cross legged on a wooden chair, sipping a rum and coke.

Finally, she groaned and lifted the letter from the table. She dug her nails under the edge of the casing and ripped it open like a bandaid. Then, she pulled out the post card shaped invitation and read it to herself, like she didn't know what it said. It was an invitation to the Barden Bella's annual week reunion. Ever since they graduated, the group had held one every year to catch up on each other's lives. Beca hadn't attended for three years, but Stacy still sent her an invite. This, Beca thought, was for Stacy to check in with her when Beca called to RSVP. Beca pushed off opening the letter for so long that it was the deadline to RSVP.

With the invite in one hand and her phone in the other, she began to pace on the cold tile. Beca's shoulders tensed against every ring. Stacy's voice hollered on the other end and Beca flinched. "Beca?!"

Beca's eyes squeezed tight. She bit her lip briefly before saying anything,"Hey, Conrad." She gulped.

Stacy took an exasperated deep breath. "You're not coming again? Really?"

Beca dug her nails into her arm, "Y-you know I can't. It's uh," She coughed, "a work thing." The brunette rolled her eyes at her inability to make up an acceptable excuse.

"Seriously Mitchell? How many years has it been a work-" Stacy's voice drifted from the speaker.

"You're not coming, again? Really?" Beca rubbed at her temples, unphased by Aubrey's voice, suddenly on the other end of the line.

Beca stared at the invitation, "What do you expect me to do, Posen?"

"What do I expect you to do? I expect you to come, Beca. It's been three fucking years-" Aubrey went on about Beca's disappearance, but Beca stopped listening. Instead she stared at the invite and flipped it to the back where Aubrey and Stacies numbers were written on the RSVP section, as well as the address of the retreat. "-after you and Chloe, everyone stopped coming and I'm so tired this. Pull your shit together, Mitchell."

"Wait." Beca had to clear her throat before speaking again. "Chloe isn't going?"

The line was silent and Beca couldn't help but cross her fingers. "No." Aubrey finally repeated. "No, she's not."

"Okay," Beca dropped her shoulders. "Look, I uh, suddenly have a bunch of, um, free time so, maybe this year I'll stop in, okay?"

* * *

 _Three Years Prior._

Chloe furrowed the thick of her eyebrow in distress and squinted her eyes to against the morning light. The grunt of a bear erupted from her body when the slightest sound of Beca's alarm clock caught her ear. Without hesitation, she twirled her body over and bent a pillow over her ears. The pillow did less than nothing. She could still hear the siren from the next room, traveling through the thin walls of the house.

The downpour left the LA ground sobbing when the sun rose. The filling rays turned the guest bedroom a glowing amber. The light drizzled across silk sheets and brightened the dark grey walls as it shrunk the night down to shadows. In hours, the remnants of the storm would be gone - but Chloe would not soon forget it.

The redhead rubbed her eyes gently until they adjusted to the sunrise. She wasn't startled by the alarm, but she was increasingly annoyed by it. She tried to stay still until it stopped and she could relax once more, but when it continued for several more minutes, she found herself too wake.

Slowly, Chloe hoisted herself out of bed and crept out of one room and toward the next. As she entered the hall, she froze, staring at master bedroom door. She stared for so long she could almost tune out the shrieking on the other side. Through the bottom crack she could see that the light was still off as she began to scrape her nails against the door frame.

Chloe bit her lip and knocked on the door. She waited for a response. When there wasn't one, she knocked louder. "Beca." She pushed her voice through the inch thick oak. "Beca. Wake up." Her words were both swollen and firm. When she received no answer after her third time knocking, she shook her head and shoved her weight into the door.

* * *

 _Three years later - Present Day._

Beca sat in the backseat of Aubrey's maserati, with one ear in her music and the other following conversation. Posen and Conrad excitedly talked about their lives and ask her about her own from the front seat. It had been a little over an hour since Beca had landed in Los Angeles and she'd already told the girls three times that she was listening, but she had to finish her work. There was a reason she told Aubrey that she could get a cab, but the former captain insisted on driving Beca down with them.

"So, where are you working again?" Aubrey had repeated herself three times before Beca looked up from her computer. They're eyes met through the rearview mirror.

"Oh," Beca strapped her headphones around her neck. "It's a small studio in Seattle. You probably wouldn't know it."

Stacy crookedly laughed. "I still can't believe you moved to Seattle. You only own one of the biggest record labels in Los Angeles, I mean, wasn't that like your dream? I can't believe you left your entire company to Jesse - like -" Aubrey nailed Stacy in her ribs before she shut her mouth.

Beca dug her nails deep into the leather on the arm rest. Aubrey cleared her throat to get Beca's attention. Beca stared at Aubrey's teeth. "I think she means that it's really nice to have you in L.A. again, Mitchell." Beca nodded her head. The car fell into silence and Beca resumed the work on her computer, tuning everything else out.

* * *

 _Three Years Prior._

"Aubrey?" Chloe's voice was brittle and hoarse over the phone. "Have you seen Beca?"

Chloe sat on the living room couch with her shaking legs loosely tied together. Her ginger strands were knotted into a bun so tight they were flush to her head. Her cheeks were crimson. Her eyes were swollen and discolored. Her gaze took in the room, constantly moving from wall to wall. When she couldn't sit any longer, she would stand to walk in circles. Her hand restlessly tapped her hip and she couldn't help but chew on her tongue.

Aubrey cleared the rasp from her throat. "Um, no? Why?"

"I don't know, Brey." Chloe walked around the house frantically, sifting through the mess and trying to calm down. "Last night we got into a fight and - I don't know. She's just gone."

"Are you sure she isn't at work?" Chloe put her friend on speaker phone when she walked into the master bedroom again.

The room was a dark mess. There were clothes strone everywhere, most of which were Chloe's. The closet door was stuck open, practically empty. The bed didn't have any blankets on it. The dresser drawers were ripped open and left empty. Chloe could barely stand to look. "No. I already called. Jesse hasn't seen or heard from her all day."

After scanning the room over again, Chloe walked back downstairs. Her breath started to stagger. "Brey, I can't breath."

"Okay, okay. I'm on my way over. Don't move." The other line went dead and Chloe's eyes fastened tight. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Between heaving, she stumbled to the couch and slumped into the leather. When her tears began to subside, she wiped her eyes clean. Looking around the empty house once more, she picked up a crumpled piece of paper on the coffee table and pried it open.

Across the middle of the page, in sloppy black lettering, Chloe read the note in her head. As she did her hand enveloped her mouth and her throat dried up. _Chloe - I'm so sorry. I tried._

* * *

 _Three Years Later - Present_

Aubrey, Stacy, and Beca were the first to arrive at the retreat. It was a rental lodge for large groups, not far from Santa Monica beach. The resort had a variety of adventures, which was exactly what Beca imagined considering Aubrey planned the trip. It reminded her a lot of the first retreat they all took together, but she was a lot happier to know they were staying in a lodge instead of in one tent. It also helped that the lodge had an outdoor jacuzzi and a twenty four hour bar. She knew at least one would come in handy.

When they arrived, Aubrey went over the list of girls that would be joining them. Most of them were girls from Beca's time at Bardon. Jessica, Ashley, Emily, Amy, and Cynthia Rose were all going to be there. Aubrey mentioned that a few were just stopping in or leaving early, as well as mentioning some names Beca hadn't heard before. Once inside the lodge, Aubrey showed Beca to her room and explained that once everyone arrived then they would have dinner and head to the hot tub. Beca agreed and decided to use the extra time to unpack.

The lodge was a secluded timeshare that the Bella's owned for one week each year. It was a decent sized, five bedroom resort with a fully stocked kitchen and living room. The living room was designed around the fireplace, with seating made for late night conversation. From there, guests could go out to the hot tub or stay in and go to a built-in steam room. The kitchen included a dining area big enough for plenty more then the Bellas had coming. The five rooms were either, queen, king, or double beds with bathrooms accommodating to the amount of beds per room. Overall the lodge was spacious enough to get some peace, but comforting enough for bonding. Beca could clearly see why Aubrey chose to spend the week there. Just walking in the foyer and up the grand staircase was enough to impress Beca.

After a few hours of getting settled in, Beca could hear giggling from the entryway. Assuming that more guests had arrived, she closed her laptop and climbed out of bed. Beca looked over at herself in the mirror and shook her head. A sigh released from her lips as she cracked her knuckles. Her shoulders were tensed and yet more at ease then they had been in years. Her hands were fidgeting at her sides. Beca left her room and walked down the hall to the grand staircase. Over the rail of the balcony, she couldn't see anyone coming into view, but she could hear the laughter in the foyer. She kept moving until she got to the edge of the rail, where she could stare down at her old friends.

When her hips hit rail, Beca's throat all of a sudden closed.

The laughter stopped.

Silence.

"Hey."


	3. Chapter 3 - Damage Control

_Damage Control_

 _Present Day -_

Chloe walked up to the lodge with a bag in each hand. She took a deep breath in and clenched them so tight that her nails dug into her palm. The sun was on the cusp between night and day, casting her light skin in an overwhelming tangerine. Her sneakers scuffed against the brick road. The Los Angeles heat embraced her skinny jeans and spread into her skin. The drive took longer than expected because of rush hour traffic and she arrived later than most of the other girls. Before walking in, Chloe dropped her bags and tied her hair into a crooked bun as she stretched out her stiff limbs.

With her hands filled, she stumbled through the door and made quite a commotion. It echoed through the lodge and before she could get a look around, A swarm of Bella's came to her aid. Aubrey and Stacy pulled her bags away and Chloe smiled, wryly. Excitement erupted from the girls and Chloe didn't know where to start. Aubrey was even surprised to see her. Before the end of her shift that day, Chloe thought she would be tied up at work for the week, unable to attend. Though, Aubrey should've known better. Chloe was never good at setting up plans early, but she never missed the important ones.

Emily was the first to embrace Chloe, nearly knocking her off her feet. Between of the two of them, they were clumsier than all the other girls combined. "Oh my god. It's been so long!" Emily eagerly stated, holding onto the hug longer than Chloe expected. Chloe hadn't seen Emily for two years, because Emily couldn't make the retreat the last year.

Chloe grinned and slowly backed up from the overwhelmingly small crowd. "Too long."

Behind Emily, Amy squeezed Chloe tight enough to crack her back. Chloe winced at the sudden closeness and the other girls laughed. "Hey Amy." She forced out through her slowly collapsing lungs.

Before Fat Amy could get in her two cents, Aubrey walked Chloe farther into the lodge entrance. Stacy, Fat Amy, and Emily followed the two closely. "So, I thought you weren't going to make it?" Aubrey smiled brightly, but rolled her shoulders back tensely.

Chloe nodded her head, visibly recognizing her best friends controlling tendencies. "Yeah. I actually didn't think I would - but it turns out someone needed to get in the extra hours and, well, here I am!" Chloe's smile was a gracious one with curled lips and charming dimples. It was rare for anyone to stay mad at her.

"That's so great. This week is going to be the best reunion yet!" Stacy smiled deviously, knowing full well the situation they were in. Aubrey gave her a disapproving look and rolled her eyes. Before the group could proceed, something clattered against the upstairs rail, catching everyone's attention.

Chloe's eyebrows caused her forehead to wrinkle into her hairline and her eyes to grew three times wider than their original size. Her hand reached around her neck and left the skin red with scratches. Her body erupted in goosebumps, all of a sudden cold. Her breath was stiff in the thin air. She gulped, trying to clear her throat. Beca's lake eyes fixed against Chloe's and the room was stone cold silent. Tension wilted into the stare and suddenly, time was irrelevant. All eyes dropped to Chloe's distinct expression and her eardrums were filled with an increasing heartbeat. Her shoulders dropped and she heard herself speak weakly toward the girl on the balcony.

"Hey."

Gazes followed the sound waves to Beca. Beca looked back down at the crowd and shook her head. She closed her eyes and held a hand on her throat. The other gripped the railing roughly. She swallowed the lump in her throat and took another glance at Chloe. Chloe's eyes swelled and her eyebrows slowly narrowed. Beca was petrified and her skin began to boil under her clothes. The two stood on opposite ends, in opposite worlds, unmoved from each other's glares. The remaining girls caught themselves in the moment and couldn't bear to leave either. They all waited, knowing it couldn't last long. Because soon enough that moment would fade like every other significant event fell into the history of their relationship - It would too.

Finally, Beca cleared her throat to speak, but nothing came out. Instead she slowly backed away from the rail until she was out of sight. She then turned and ran back to her room. Chloe shook her head and blinked rapidly as she processed. Her mouth stayed open in shock. Her eyes moved back to ground floor and she remembered the girls were standing in the room with her. She stared unevenly at Aubrey and noticed the sympathy gazes that she received back. Aubrey nervously entangled her hands and nodded at Chloe's distress. "It's the last door on the right."

Chloe bobbed her head up and down, still grasping to catch her breath. The rest of the group moved to the next room and Chloe turned toward a set of the stairs. She slowly walked up each step, pretending to admire the decorations of the lodge. It was a long, dragged out travel to Beca's door. Chloe's hands were shaking by the time she tried to knock. She tried to steady them, but eventually she sat cross legged in front of the room, defeated. Her face was red and her eyes were filled with water - but she did not cry. Instead she shook her hands out, took a deep breath, and stared at the crack under the door. Finally, she knocked.

"Beca," Chloe stated it like she was learning a new language. "Listen." Body weight shifted on the other side of the door and Chloe could tell Beca had her back against it. She then rubbed her hands together and sighed. Her tank top fell off her shoulder as they dropped lower. "I know you don't want to see me. If I knew you were going to be here, I-I wouldn't of come. But um, we're both here, okay? It's been three years and it's not easy." If Chloe was being honest with herself, she felt foolish. "I just. I don't want to ruin this for everyone else. They shouldn't have to pick which of us should leave. So, if you won't," The hallway consumed Chloe into the smallest she'd ever been. "I won't."

* * *

 _Four Years Prior -_

Chloe and Beca stumbled into the room, lips pressed against one another, losing articles of clothing along the way. Beca pushed Chloe on the bed and straddled her girlfriend, their lips hardly breaking apart. "You make, me, so happy" Beca mumbled against Chloe's lips as they continued.

"I've never been so happy." Chloe huffed as Beca kissed down her neck.

Chloe hummed when Beca reached her collarbone. Beca listened to her girlfriend's amusement and suddenly slow down to pay it close attention. "I don't know what I'd do without you." She said, stopping for a brief moment and looking into Chloe's eyes.

Chloe grinned widely and used the moment to her advantage. With rapid action, Chloe kicked Beca off and spun her around to switch positions. Beca bit her lip and Chloe pinned her to the bed. "Me either." Chloe smirked, deeply kissing Beca.

"Damnit, Beale." Beca mumbled, trying her hardest to push up in revolt.

Chloe pushed Beca back down on the bed, "Shut up. You love it." Chloe started kissing Beca's neck and Beca melted into it.

Involuntarily, Beca grabbed the bed sheets and tightened her grip on the seams. The world slowly became a blur as Chloe made her way down the brunettes stomach, kissing up and down her body as slow as she could make herself go. Chloe was the only one who'd ever make Beca Mitchell feel that way - and she loved every second of it. With every touch of Chloe's hand, Beca became thoroughly aware and even more sensitive. Chloe continued to tease the DJ as she could feel Beca's heart beating out of her chest. Beca all of a sudden became too aware of her surroundings.

"Chlo." Beca's voice dropped octaves. Chloe wasn't listening. "Babe - Chloe!" Chloe suddenly looked up at the now sitting DJ.

"What?"

"Chloe, this is Aubrey's room." She said, eyes wider than Chloe had ever seen.

Chloe laughed when she looked around, realizing the fact that Beca had pointed out. Beca laughed half heartedly with her girlfriend and Chloe kissed Beca on the lips again. "Well," She smiled, deviously. "I won't say anything, if you won't."

Beca smiled awkwardly, unable to fight her girlfriend, who was already straddling her.

* * *

 _Present Day -_

Chloe, Aubrey, and the other girls piled into the hot tub and settled into the night. Smiles were shared all over and their bikini ready bodies were finally actually in bikinis. They were all extremely excited about how nice the water felt. The entire night up to that point had been reminiscing about their days in college, joking with one another and falling into old habits. Half the girls were already a few glasses of wine in and the others poured their first when they got in the jacuzzi. Though nobody would want to admit it, they all missed the Bella's deeply and revisiting their best days together was the perfect way to start off the week. It was almost perfect. Almost being the fact that Beca hadn't come out of her room since Chloe arrived. And everyone could tell Chloe's lack of enjoyment due to the fact.

"So, when is everyone else getting here?" Emily asked, licking the remnants of sangria off her lips.

Everyone turned toward Aubrey, who exchanged looks with Stacy before speaking up. "I think everyone else should be here by the morning. Some people had to go to work today and couldn't get a flight out until then."

"So the real fun starts tomorrow." Fat Amy clarified, nodding her head as if she had some evil plot being prepared. The other girls laughed when they agreed and hoped Amy had no such plans.

"Hey!" Stacy excitedly changed the subject. "Do you guys remember the time we rented a house out on the beach for the summer and Fat Amy convinced us all to go skinny dipping in the ocean?" Everyone started laughing before she finished. "Oh my god and Beca actually got wasted?"

"That's not, exactly, what happened." All eyes admired Beca when she approached the tub.

Aubrey watched Chloe's face light up with color when she heard Beca's voice. Chloe turned toward Beca and couldn't help but smile, partially because of how amazing she looked in her bikini. It was a black simple bikini, but the way it showed all of Beca's tattoos had always left Chloe speechless. After the quickest look she could handle, Chloe turned back to the group and took a long, deep breath. Stacy watched Beca stare at Chloe as she turned away, just as impressed as Chloe was with her. Chloe's bathing suit made Beca question her own because of how vibrant and colorful it was - but that was Chloe.

"Well look who came to visit," Emily smiled with all of her teeth, fixated on Beca. "It's been a long time." Beca and Emily hadn't seen each other since Beca mixed Emily's last album three years back. It won multiple awards for the lyrics and the mix. They always agreed they made a good team, but they hadn't worked on anything since.

Beca gave her a sweet half smile and nodded her head, "Sup, Junk?"

"Well if it isn't the big BM" Fat Amy called out when Beca sunk in the water. "Award winning music producer everyone."

"Oh shut up." Beca rolled her eyes. She couldn't remember the last time she saw Amy.

"Alright, Mitchell, if that's not how it happened, then tell us. How did it go that night?" Aubrey raised her eyebrows as she always did when she questioned Beca.

"Well…" Beca gazed around the circle of girls, preparing to tell the story.

* * *

 _Five Years Prior -_

The Bella's had just won their third National Championship, earning the title and a tour around the United States. As a celebration, Chloe booked a hotel by the beach for the weekend and everyone was there. They had arrived at the hotel late friday night and they were still on a winning high. Luckily, they brought plenty of alcohol and decided to play a long game of Never Have I Ever. It had gone around a few times and they were learning plenty of new things - especially about Amy and Stacy. It was Beca's turn and she had already taken ten minutes trying to think of something that she hadn't done, but that all the other Bella's could've done.

"Never have I ever.." Beca narrowed her eyes and stared around the circle of girls she'd become genuinely close with over the three years she'd attended Bardon University. "Gotten so wasted that I forgotten parts of the night."

The entire crowd erupted in distress and some even threw empty cups at Beca in detest. "There is no way shorty!" Fat Amy yelled. "Give us a real one!"

"I'm serious!" Beca squealed, her hands lazily protecting her head from foreign objects. "I have never been that drunk."

Everyone around the room narrowed their eyes and drank with suspicious eyes. "Oh come on guys." Chloe said. "It could be true."

Stacy bit her lip. "You know what? I believe her."

"Thank you!" Beca smile and pointed to Stacy.

"Which is why," Stacy smirked, "we need to show her exactly what it's like."

The rest of the Bella's deviously agreed and Beca stood on her chair, with her hands out to defend herself. "No, no, no, no, no!"

The rest of the night the Bella's spent targeting Beca in the game to make her drink as much as possible. She had so much alcohol by the end of the night that she was lucky she didn't wake up with alcohol poisoning. She must've had over a bottle of vodka when Amy brought up skinny dipping. Not to mention trying to get Chloe to go to bed with her all night. The next morning, Beca couldn't remember a single thing after playing Never Have I Ever and Chloe had to nurse her back to health for the rest of the weekend. Beca didn't get out of bed until it was time for the Bella's to check out of the hotel. For a week afterward, she claimed that she still had a hangover.

* * *

 _Present Day -_

"So, what you're saying is that Stacy was right? You did get incredibly wasted and go skinny dipping?" Emily asked, her eyes narrowed and her smirk formed from ear to ear.

The rest of the girls burst out laughing at Beca, who rolled her eyes, laughing. "I still blame you!" She pointed at Stacy and the girls laughed harder.

Somehow it wasn't hard to have a good time, despite being together after years of being a part. Beca glanced at Chloe next to her and Chloe grinned back at her. Beca was skeptical, but maybe they could make it through the week.

"Okay. Okay. Okay. I can't wait." Aubrey bursted out, clearly only speaking to Stacy.

The girls settled down and stared at them, unsure of what was about to happen.

Aubrey waited for Stacy's response. Stacy smiled nodded, taking Aubrey's hand in her own. Together they looked at their oldest friends. Aubrey put one hand behind her back and grabbed something off the edge of the hot tub. They looked at each other once more and then announced the news in sync. "We're Engaged!" Aubrey pulled out a ring laid in a felt box and pointed it out to everyone in the jacuzzi. Immediately the group started a commotion over the ring and how it happened. Smiles passed from person to person, excited about the news of the night.

Chloe and Beca weakly smiled at Aubrey and avoided making eye contact with each other. The two were both trying desperately to look excited. Cautiously, they pushed themselves farther apart. Beca crept her way into the corner and scratched anxiously at her wrists. Chloe moved to the other side and sunk lower in the water, pushing a smile on her face when Aubrey glanced over. Their hopes for making it through the week shrank as Chloe looked at the diamond and passed it to her ex-fiancee.


	4. Chapter 4 - Happier

**Hey Guys! Has it been a week already? Sorry it's been a while since my last update. This chapter took a little more time to put together. Anyways,** **I wanted to thank you all for the comments and favorites. I never thought people would be following my writing! I hope you guys like this chapter! I love reading reviews and comments! If you have time, I love to hear feedback in the future! Hopes, dreams? Let me know what you think! Also, Follow me on Tumblr at ezrajclarke for questions and updates! But without further ado, Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Happier_

 _Present Day -_

"How did it happen?"

Beca unrelentingly stared off into the distance.

"When? Where?"

She took another gulp and finished off her fourth glass of scotch.

"Have you started planning the wedding? Is there a date?"

Chloe watched Beca through her peripherals and pretended to listen intently as Aubrey answered the other girls.

"Can we help you plan? This is so exciting!"

Beca was loosely staring at Stacy and Aubrey, watching their each and every move. Stacy sat next to Aubrey with two hands laid across her fiancee's shoulder. She stared into Aubrey's eyes, her mouth slightly ajar. Her tongue grazed her bottom lip when the two exchanged a longing look. Aubrey swallowed hard when she saw Stacy's eyes and her lips peeled away. Aubrey's teeth showed brightly when she looked back to the group. She stumbled over the last few words when answering. Chloe made recognizable glances to Beca as casually as she could have.

Beca glanced down at her hands, which tapped vigorously against her empty glass. Her brunette hair fell strand by strand out of her bun. She shoved the extra pieces away from her face and wrapped them around her ears. Her earrings ripped out a few hairs from what once were short bangs. Water dripped off her fingertips, slipped down her shoulders, and down the outline of her tattoo. The subversive hot tub light shadowed over Chloe as Beca moved back and forth, unable to hold still. Chloe repositioned herself and let the lines of the light shimmer over her pale skin. Beca couldn't help but notice how Chloe's eyes shone brighter in the light coming through the water.

Beca swung the empty glass around for as long as she could. She'd already been up a multitude of times in twenty minutes to pour in more scotch, which hadn't gone unnoticed. Slowly, she pulled her body weight to get up, but a hand tapped lightly on her knee before she did. Shocked, she gazed up for the first time since Aubrey announced the engagement. Cyan eyes pierced back, and quickly looked away. Beca's sapphire eyes expanded in apprehension. The brunette looked around the deck, toward the cooler nearby. She took a deep breath and forcibly relaxed back into her seat. Chloe dragged her hand from Beca's soft skin and repositioned it on her own leg. The two shifted as far as they could into the corners of the tub. Beca set her glass on the deck beside the water. She adjusted her view to slip a gaze at her ex fiance.

Chloe's shoulders were slouched in the warm water, giving the impression that she was comfortable. Her legs curled up around her stomach and her chin rested over her knee caps. Water lingered in waves around her body, less stationary from her previous motion. The light beamed through the waves and drew lines across her skin. Her hair drizzled on surface of the whirlpool, dipping the tips of her newly cut hair in. The red streaks were no longer than her shoulders with crisp curls all over. She did not look at Beca for the rest of the night.

* * *

 _Three Years Prior -_

Jesse sat next to his best friend, staring at her sunken eyes. They'd been sitting in silence for ten minutes at least and Jesse was still speechless. He stared at Beca with his mouth wide open and Beca took another shot of rum. Anyone could tell from looking at her that she was in a bad place. Her hair was a mess of knotted curls and she had worn the same outfit for at least three days. "Beca, I don't get it. What's going on? Why the hell are you letting me run the studio? It's just not like you."

The bar was nearly empty, being as it was three o'clock on a Tuesday. "I told you. I'm going to open a new one and work from there. I'm expanding my horizons" Beca stared at her shot glass and avoided looking at him. "- or whatever."

"Beca that's bullshit. This studio is everything to you. And opening a studio in Seattle? Really?" Jesse talked with his hands so much that he spilled vodka on his jeans.

Beca watched Jesse passionately argue with her, then glanced around the bar. "I don't know what to say. I think it's time for new scenery." Her shoulders slouched into her elbows that dug into curved black wood. Jesse had never seen Beca so un-entitled. Her eyes were continuously moving and indirect. She bit her lip.

Jesse sat back on the bar stool and shook his head. His arms folded over one another and Beca had never seen him so infuriated. "New scenery? Your a top music producer in Los Angeles, Mitchell. If you need a damn vacation, take one, but moving to Seattle? It's drastic, even for you. Have you even talked to Chloe about this?"

Beca's eyes shot up when Jesse said Chloe. Her eyelids opened wider and her shoulders perked at the name. She swallowed the lump in her throat hard. Jesse raised his eyebrows in sudden realization. Beca scratched the back of her neck and stood up from the bar. "This is my decision, Swanson."

Jesse dropped his protesting shoulders and stuttered. "B-b-beca, I had no idea." Beca shook her head and pulled twenties from her wallet. Jesse put his hand over Beca's. Beca took a sharp breath in and Jesse noticed that it was vulnerability he couldn't place earlier. "Bec, anything I can do, I'm there." Beca ripped from his grip and left the money on the counter top. She pulled her messenger bag onto her shoulder and turned to leave the bar. Jesse threw his money on the table and chased her out. "How long will you be gone?"

Beca exited the bar and walked to her car. "I don't know. I'll let you know when I do."

She slammed herself in her jeep and Jesse stumbled to the window next to her. She started the car with haste and Jesse walked with the car as it backed up. He got one last look in her eyes before she sped off. "Call me, if you need me."

* * *

 _Present Day, The Next Day -_

 _How did it happen?_

Beca's eyes fluttered open and turned roughly into a squint against the morning light.

 _When? Where?_

A few seconds went by before her head started pounding from the booze the night before.

 _Have you started planning the wedding? Is there a date?_

Beca winced and pulled the comforter over her head. Questions from the previous night repeated over in her head.

 _Can we help you plan? This is so exciting!_

She glanced at the clock. It was just barely nine o'clock, which meant Beca hardly got three hours of sleep. She rolled her eyes and pushed herself to get out of bed. After all the late nights and early mornings at work, she'd been more then used to the lack of sleep; The multitude of drinks she had after the girls went to bed were not her brightest idea. The migraine was worse than usual, but it was manageable. She'd been through plenty of mornings similar to this one. Beca hadn't gotten five hours of sleep in years.

She stumbled to the mirror and leaned her weight against the dresser to hold her balance. Her legs were weak and her body ached. Her hair was spun into a tight bun, which aggravated her headache. Her makeup from the day before melted around her eyes and darkened the natural dark circles. Her v neck was hardly clasping on the edge of her shoulder and her sweats hugged her hips tight. She rubbed her eyes briefly and adjusted her eyes to the morning. She could hear the girls starting to stir when Aubrey announced breakfast. She waited for the stomping to dissipate before she left her room. She stumbled down the grand staircase and silently cursed herself for not bringing earplugs. The girls were squealing in the next hall and Beca stopped to take a breath before she walked in.

When she entered the dining room, she was greeted by the old familiar faces of Jessica and Ashley, whom she hadn't seen in over three years. All attention was turned away from her and towards Aubrey, who was once again announcing her and Stacy's engagement. Beca crept in silently and sat at the end of the table, behind the commotion. She rubbed her temples rigorously and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, a cup of black coffee was sat in front of her. She glanced up and met Stacy's wide eyes smiling back at her. She gave Stacy a half hearted grin and Stacy sat down next to her. "Hit it pretty hard last night." She whispered.

Stacy's smile was foretelling her thoughts. It was the same smile she gave Amy when she admitted her feelings for Bumper. It spread her thin lips out to her dimples and made her eyes even bigger than they already were. It was a heartwarming smirk that she couldn't hide if she wanted to. Beca let out a noise that was somewhere between a laugh and a scoff, "I was," She swallowed, "having fun."

"Ahuh." Stacy roamed her eyes around the room and shrugged her shoulders. "Sure you were." The front door slammed shut and all eyes turned toward the lobby. Beca winced, then leaned back in her chair to sip her coffee. Chloe walked in the front door, still covered in sweat from her morning run.

Suddenly, the commotion shifted to the redhead. Beca stared over silently as they greeted each other and talked loudly over one another. Beca's eyes caught onto Chloe's glance and her throat closed up. She then jerked back down to her coffee and took another gulp of espresso. Stacy shifted back to the now slouching Beca and smirked, "Right, having fun."

* * *

 _Three Years Prior -_

Chloe ripped her nails beneath paint to tear trappings off the walls; She pulled at bits and pieces so fastened to the space they perhaps developed a firm relationship with the wall over the years. Nevertheless, she pulled each item down like clockwork, leaving the artifacts strayed across her living room. Picture frames piled up on the carpet and furniture flipped on their sides. Wood frames cracked a part at the corners and prints fell sluggishly out of the backs.

Chloe stood at the top of the staircase, pulling on the last piece of tapestry. Her hands were covered in residue of drywall. The wall was torn apart from the bottom of the steps all the way up to the ginger haired girl. Choe hadn't slept in two days. Tears were welled up in her eyes, playing hopscotch down her face - which was puffy and red. Her tightened chest crushed her windpipe and the broken drapery left blood under her nails.

Aubrey watched from the couch and dodged the falling material. She'd tried to talk Chloe down, but after a while she almost found it fitting to let her get the anger out. As Chloe continued, she took the pictures out of the frames and straightened the corners to keep them as intact as she could. Afterwhich, she collected the scraps and tossed them in a garbage bag. Chloe continued down the hallway, pulling all of the decorations down.

"I'm going to move." Chloe puffed out of her heavy chest through large breaths to her best friend.

Aubrey looked up towards the second floor with a peculiar look tattooed on her face. "You're what?"

"I have to get out of this house, I just can't do it anymore Bree. I can't handle it." Chloe stormed down the staircase, staring Aubrey with disgust in her eyes. "Everything here is just too- I can't Bree. Everything in this house is too much."

Chloe sat down on the couch and rubbed the dark circles under her eyes. Aubrey placed a hand on the grieving girls back and gently consoled her. "Chloe. It's not the house. What you need is time." Aubrey had never seen Chloe so upset in her life.

"It's like. All I want is to be with her again and at the same time I never want to see her." Chloe laid back on the couch and stared at the white ceiling, roughly trying to relax. Her shoulders stayed tense.

"Okay. Look, let's get you out of the house. We'll go out and you can stay with me and Stacy until you're ready, okay?" Aubrey stared at her exhausted best friend and Chloe peered an eye back at her.

"Are you sure you want to do that? I could never intrude on -"

"Of course, I'm sure."

* * *

 _Present Day -_

Stacy watched all of the girls pile upstairs to get ready for the day. She stared until even Beca was out of her sight. Then, her eyes fell on her fiancee, who was left to do the dishes. Silently, she stood from the table and eased up behind Aubrey. She could see the hint of a smile on Aubrey's face as she approached. Stacy wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and Aubrey relaxed into the hug. Aubrey felt Stacy's chin on her shoulder and felt the skin of their cheeks gently touch. "Okay, don't be mad." Stacy whispered.

Aubrey's eyes fluttered open again and narrowed at Stacy's voice. In moments, Aubrey rinsed her hands clean and twirled in Stacy's arms. Stacy slipped her arms around Aubrey's hips and the uptight girl suspiciously stared back. Stacy's teeth appeared with her grin from ear to ear. Her hair embraced her face with morning knots and her eyes were liquid chocolate to Aubrey's stare. "I think.." She bit her lip in an attempt to persuade Aubrey to her side. "We should get Beca and Chloe back together."

Aubrey's light smile quickly faded to a frown. Without hesitation, she flipped back to doing dishes. The cool rush of water on her fingertips sent goosebumps down her legs. Her blonde locks rushed around her flush cheeks. "No." Aubrey stated, scrubbing the already clean dish harder. "Absolutely not."

Stacy tried to seduce her girlfriend again, but this time Aubrey hip checked her away. "Come on. They're still in love, I can see it."

Aubrey shook her head and put the last dish on the drying rack and brushed her hands together. Stacy watched her fiancee finished and folded her arms in anticipation of Aubrey's response. Aubrey put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "Babe, I know you're trying to do the right thing, but you didn't see it. Beca broke Chloe's heart, and," Aubrey cleaned off the table and wiped it down. She looked up at her girlfriend and she swallowed roughly. "I don't know if she can ever fix that - I don't even know if anyone can fix it - but I don't want Chloe to get any more hurt than she already has. I won't let Beca break her heart again. I don't even know if Beca will ever be ready for a real commitment. She's just too, alternative."


	5. Chapter 5 - Exes

**Hey Everyone! Thank you so much for your comments and reviews! I appreciate it so much! Really inspires me to keep writing. This one is actually inspired by RangerDangers review. It really made me want to keep writing. Sorry this chapter took a little longer. Follow me on Tumblr for updates and if you have any questions! My tumblr is ezrajclarke. Thanks again! I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _Exes_

 _Present Day -_

Beca stared at the tattoo, encasing her inner wrist. When she ran her fingers over the ink, she could still feel the lines raised above her skin. The pale surface embraced the black lines and highlighted the design to those who saw. Still, It was a small addition to her collection and was marked unnoticed to even her closest friends. The tattoo was bold script writing, edged into the part of her body right in between her hand and forearm. The words read, "Learn to Love" and faced Beca instead of the outside world. As she dressed, she used a small black bracelet to hide the embroidery and listened for Aubrey's boarding call.

* * *

 _Four and Half Years Prior -_

The bella's had just won worlds and arrived back to the house. It would be the last week before they all had together before moving out. While it was only the first year for some of them, most of the seniors would not be coming back. Together, they had been the most impactful Bella's that Bardon had ever seen and they would not be soon forgotten. It was already very late when they got home. The majority of their day had been spent traveling home. As a group they all piled into the living room and sat down on the couch. After the long day, everyone was exhausted and surprisingly quiet. Chloe couldn't remember the last time the house was so silent.

After a brief moment of settling in, Emily uncomfortably looked around the room and swallowed the lump in her throat, "I can't believe you guys all graduated. It's like I just got used to this. What am I going to do without you guys?"

Chloe's eyes glimmered back at Legacy with a curled half smile, "Emily, you'll still see us. I mean, maybe we won't be the bella's anymore, but we'll still hang out."

Amy jumped in, immediately sitting up. Her hair was a teased mess, flowing toward her face like a lion's mane. "Yeah, come on Junk, when Bumpa and I aren't traveling the world, we'll need some place to crash."

Emily's shoulders slouched uncomfortably and she slid her eyes to the floor. From the corner of the couch, Beca kicked Emily's side, which seemed to get her attention. "Hey," Beca noted, "Don't act like that. We'll still see each other and besides, someone's got to carry on our Legacy to the next group of nerds, right?"

Emily blushed and let out her genuinely loud laugh. Beca had become one of Emily's role models and hearing something like that from her was an honor to say the least. "Yeah, yeah, I guess you guys are right, but I'll still miss you."

"Okay, well what about this." Chloe's eyes beamed at Beca with wonder and curiosity. "Aubrey said the Bella's before set up an annual reunion after she graduated. Why don't we make our own?" Chloe hinted a smile when Beca nodded in agreement. "At least once a year we'll all go on a retreat and catch up."

Beca eagerly sat up in her chair and awkwardly grinned back at Chloe. "I'd like that," She muttered and the rest of the Bella's agreed.

* * *

 _Present Day -_

Choe sat downstairs in the kitchen, gazing out the front window. She sipped at the coffee in hand and cringed at the bitter taste. She didn't take an eye off the window as rain pelted off the glass, flooded the brick road, and swamped into the grass nearby. Over the thunder she could hear Aubrey's protest to the weather. "Of course, this has to happen the first day everyone's here."

For the first day of the retreat, Aubrey had planned to take the Bella's to the beach, but a pop up thunderstorm came in off shore which meant they wouldn't be leaving for hours. Chloe coped with ignoring Aubrey's need to control the situation, but became all of a sudden thankful that Stacy could handle it. Lightning struck off the shore and mirrored in Chloe's eyes. She smiled into her mug and curled into the wood chair. "Babe, It's just a little rain." Stacy tried her best to console her fiancee.

Aubrey's temper eventually reached the kitchen and Stacy followed. "I just. I don't know what we're going to do. This is supposed to be fun and now we have to stay here."

Chloe crookedly laughed at Aubrey, who finally drew her attention from the window. Aubrey shook her head and glanced at her best friend, "What?"

Chloe placed her cup on the table and positioned herself toward Aubrey. "I just, think you're overthinking this." She swallowed when Aubrey's eyebrows furrowed. "Brey, the point is that we're all together, right? So what if we're stuck in the house? We'll play games and roast marshmallows over the fire - It's not a big deal, as long as we're together."

Aubrey and Stacy froze in their steps and agreed. "Yeah."

Chloe's eyes fluttered and she audibly sighed. Her eyes flipped back to the storm and she muttered to herself. "As long as we're together."

* * *

 _Four and a Half Years Prior -_

Most of the Bella adjourned to their rooms quickly to get some sleep. All of them were jetlagged and unable to keep their eyes open. Soon after everyone was sleep, Beca brewed a cup of coffee in the kitchen. No matter how far they had traveled, she always found it hard to sleep. Most likely she wouldn't sleep until she absolutely had to. Not because she had insomnia, but because she couldn't stop thinking. Instead of trying, she sat in the living room and watch the storm brew over the Bardon campus. She sunk into the cushions with a blanket and watch the night pass by.

"What're you doing up?" Stacy's voice nearly made Beca jump three feet in the air, spilling coffee all over her blankets.

"Shit." She whispered.

Stacy laughed and went to the kitchen to pour herself a cup of water. She returned with paper towels and Beca started cleaning herself up. "I, couldn't sleep."

Stacy smiled eagerly and sat down on the couch. "So you're thinking about Chloe."

Beca did a double take before answering. Her eyebrows rose high and she nearly spit out what was left of her coffee. "What?"

Stacy laid back and smirked. "So I'm right." Beca rolled her eyes, shook her head, and looked back out the window. "Why don't you tell her how you feel?"

Beca rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, "Are we really having this conversation?"

"Come on, Beca, everyone knows you like her, why not go for it? You're like perfect for her." Stacy's chocolate eyes stared unrelentingly at her fellow Bella.

Beca's throat tightened. Her hands shook the coffee mug slightly and her mouth grew dry. She glanced over at Stacy and finally slouched her shoulders. "I don't want to lose her."

Stacy shook her head and smile lightly and Beca could see her getting lost in thought. She cleared her throat before she spoke up. "Beca, a while ago, that's the way I thought too, but it's not like that," She stood up, "look. If she's worth losing at all, then you couldn't lose her if you tried and at the end of the day - It's better to know then not to know. And you're running out of time."

* * *

 _Present Day -_

The girls sat in a half circle around the living room fireplace. Most of them were in sweatpants or pajamas, using the day as a day of relaxation instead of what Aubrey planned. Still, the girls were talking and laughing, the same as the night before. Around the warmth of the fire in the air conditioning, they all talked and enjoying being together, despite the setback. By the middle of the day they decided to play a game. The game was where everyone in the room wrote a general question on a beach ball and as they passed it around, they had to answer whatever question their thumb landed on. Whether they were funny or serious questions, the game helped them catch up and enjoy the time they had while they could.

 **Are you in a relationship?**

Stacy smirked and the rest of the girls giggled at the question. "Hmm. I think my fiancee would kill me if I said no." Stares drifted to Aubrey and she blushed gingerly, nodding at Stacy's comment. Stacy passed the ball on.

 **Describe the last time you were wasted.**

Amy immediately lept into one of her long rants. "Okay. We were in Switzerland, or maybe it was France. Fuck. Okay definitely France, and I was taking a tour of a winery for the free wine.. I don't remember much. I think there was a wrestling match though. Obviously, I won." Everyone started to laugh and Amy passed the ball on, then added. "Oh and bumpa and I did it."

 **What's your favorite drink?**

Cynthia Rose cracked up and shook her head, "Uh, duh, the one that gets me wasted faster!" The girls cheered along with her. Finally, she passed the all along to Beca.

 **Do you still think about an ex?**

Beca pushed herself to smile, but it came out crooked. Her lips quickly fell into a frown and her heart began to race. Everyone stared sympathetically and her hands began to shake. She tried to look up from the floor, but couldn't bring herself to look anyone in the eyes. Her shoulders tensed and she closed her eyes tight. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I, um," She could hardly get the words out of her mouth and she found herself stuttering.

Aubrey shook her head and folded her legs over one another. She tried to break up the silence. "Beca, you don't have to answer that, guys, let's just move-"

"No, no. Umm, It's fine." Beca nodded Aubrey off and the group stared back at her. Beca finally looked up at Chloe, who was more than interested in the new game. Still, her ex's eyes were cold and protected. Her eyebrows were furrowed at Beca's stutter. Her lips were parted slightly in near disgust. Eyes stared at both of the girls. Chloe folded her arms in anticipation and Beca scratched at her wrist. "I, um, I do. I do every single day of my life."

* * *

 _Four and a half Years Prior -_

Beca sat with her legs crossed in the hallway of the Bella house. She leaned her back against the white wall and stared at the door in front of her. Her eyes were glazed with caffeine and her heart was beating out of her chest. Her nails dug into her wrist, leaving red marks across her forearm. The house was silent around her, but her heart beat drown out the silence. Her legs were shaking back and forth and she couldn't stop herself from fidgeting. Her lake eyes pierced the door as if she was waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, she stood up and gulped. She raised her hand to knock and took a deep breath.

Before Beca's knuckles could touch the wood, the door swung open.

"Becs?"

"Uh, hey, Chlo. Can we talk?"


	6. Chapter 6 - Back Track

**Hey Everyone! Thanks for all the comments and reviews! They really help me stay inspired to keep writing. This chapter is a little different, we get things a little differently and it's more about figuring out why things are the way they are. I hope you guys like it. Keep checking back for another update! The next chapter is absolutely going to be a big one. As always let me know what you like or if there's anything you guys think I need to work on. Hopes and dreams for these two? Follow me on Tumblr for more about updates and questions! I know I don't answer reviews often here but they're easier to do on tumblr. Thanks again! ezrajclarke**

* * *

 _Back Track_

 _Present Day -_

The hallway was incredibly dark at six o'clock at night. The sky was at the end of darkness, with the storm nearly past the lodge. Windows let in minimal light through the blinds, which left slanted slits of light on Beca's face. The chestnut hardwood became a swollen charcoal. The walls tinted to the tan, rising moon. The foyer smelled distinctly of spilled ink. The darkness kissed Beca's pale skin and laid a path to highlight her body. It welcomed silence for as long as she stayed still.

Her back molded to the redwood door. Her nails dug engravings into the hardwood floor. Her sweatpants were hardly stuck at her hips. Her Ramones tee shirt loosely hung from her bra to her hips. The fabric was so thin anyone could see the lace she hid underneath. The lack of light gave off the impression that her hair was closer to black, though it wasn't. Beca shuttered when as the last person exited the lodge and the door slammed shut. Silence filled the cold air all over and she bundled her legs closer to her chest and she wrapper her thin arms around her knees.

Chloe hadn't come out of her room for hours. After Beca spoke during the game, she stormed off to her room and hadn't unlocked the door for anyone. Most of the girls tried their hand to get in, but there was no response in turn. Eventually, Aubrey and Stacy decided she needed space and offer to take everyone out to the club for the night. Most everyone agreed, but Beca had no intentions on leaving. Instead, she sat silently against Chloe's door and didn't move. The girls also attempted to talk to her as well, but it was to no avail. Beca crumbled into her own position and faithfully leaned against the splintered door. She listened close to the door, but could hear no sounds from the other side.

* * *

 _Ten Years Prior -_

"I can't even fucking look at you!"

Screams echoed through thin walls and could be heard all over the small neighborhood.

"I don't understand why not?!"

Sixteen year old Beca crouched on the floor of her bedroom, with her back against the door. She furrowed the thick of her eyebrow in distress and sunk her head inbetween her knees. Her hair was curled around her face and cut shortly to her chin. Her body shook at the slightest sound bursting in her ear. Her face was burned red and engorged.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

Beca's muscles tensed. Her knees pushed against her chest and caused her to hyperventilate. She pulled a pillow from nearby and wrapped it around her ears tight.

"Yes, obviously, I'm laughing about this."

The pillow did less than nothing. She could still hear the screams from the next room. She swore in her mind that the walls were thinner than the sheets of a tent.

"Well, you obviously don't fucking care."

She tried to will herself to go to sleep, to stop listening, after all it was almost two o'clock in the morning on a school night.

"What the hell do you want me to do?"

That never worked.

"Maybe stop seeing your mistress? What's her fucking name? Sheila?"

The young girl let tears drip down the sides of her face.

"For the last fucking time I'm not having an affair!" Dr. Mitchell's voice boomed through the halls.

"Is that why you come home late every night? Because you're not having an affair? And is that why she's offering you a job? Half way across the fucking country? Is that why you want to take it? Because you're not having an affair?" Beca's mom continued to scream, but Beca could hear her father's footsteps climbing up the stairs.

"I can't fucking make you believe me."

Beca shuttered again when their bedroom door slammed shut. Her breath staggered and she struggled to take another breath in. Her heartbeat was rapid against her chest. Her knees trembled against one another. Her skin flushed pale and her pupils shone bright against the redness in her eyes. The black beneath them looked so dark it could've been smeared eyeliner. The screams did not stop for another hour and Beca could not fall asleep no matter how hard she tried. Instead, she stared around her room in the dark and sat as still and quiet as possible.

* * *

 _Present Day -_

Chloe's flannel desperately held onto her elbows, drifting and sweeping the floor. Her tank top tightly hugged her figure and wrinkled around her stomach to show skin. Her shorts were just barely covering what was necessary, leaving her long legs out to be noticed. In the silence, she pulled her flannel up and wrapped it around her body. Her face swelled around her cheeks, which were as bright as a fire truck. She hadn't stopped pacing her room since she locked the door. For a while, she listened to the sounds on the other side, until her friends left the lodge.

* * *

 _Nine and a Half Years Prior -_

Beca sat at the end of a long table in a room used for business meetings. She swiveled in a black chair and watched her surrounds spin into a blur. On the other end of the table, her parents sat with a lawyer and multiple copies of paperwork. Her dad was dressed in the suit he wore to work most days and her mother wore a silk dress. Despite the fight she put up against her mother about dressing up, Beca also wore a silk blue dress with a white sweater overtop.

In those outfits, Beca couldn't help but recognize the resemblance between her and her mother. She had received many of her physical characteristics from her mother, but not as much of her personality. They both had mahogany brown hair, which when it grew out became the perfect inbetween of curly and straight. They both also had a peculiar eye color that fell somewhere between an icey blue and an honest teal depending on the day. She also got her mother's pale and rigid skin, which Beca tried much harder to keep up with then her mother ever had in her life. Beca's skin had become more of an alabaster while her mother's had withered away with wrinkles and psoriasis

The lawyers had been talking with her parents for over an hour about a variety of different topics, which Beca had mostly tuned out. She wished more than ever she had brought her computer, but instead she had scribbled around on a piece of paper to keep busy. Early morning light brightened the chestnut walls and brought a new shine to the lacquer on the long table. "Now, what about your daughter?" The lawyer glanced up at Beca's parents as he flipped to the next page of the divorce agreement. "Beca, is it?" He motioned toward her.

Both of her parents looked at her and Beca stopped the chair from spinning at the mention of her name. Through her dizzy haze, she looked at the sympathy in their eyes. Her father adjusted his tie and folded his hands together on the table. "Beca is going to live with me." He told the lawyer.

Beca shook her head and narrowed her eyes. "I'm what?" She interrupted.

The lawyer didn't pay her any mind.

Dr. Mitchell swallowed hard and rephrased, "You're going to come live with me in Atlanta."

Beca's hands flew into the air and she stared her mother down. Her mother immediately looked away and to the ground. Beca's eyes drifted back to her father and then over to the lawyer. "Don't I get a say in this?"

The lawyer was a young man with a shaved head. He was also dressed in a suit, a much nicer one than Dr. Mitchell's. "Normally, yes you would-" He stuttered, unsure how to handle Beca's misdirected anger.

Dr. Mitchell soon cut him off, while buttoning the jacket of his suit, "but your mother can't afford to take care of you on your own. She'll still have visitation and you can see her whenever you want, but for now, we are doing what's best for you."

Beca rolled her eyes at her father and scoffed. All of a sudden she couldn't catch her breath. "So because you can't stay in the same house? I have to move across the country in the middle of the year and start all over?" Beca was hardly keeping her voice under control. Beca's father put his hand up to remind her to think about her surroundings. Beca's nostrils flared. Dr. Mitchell did not respond. Beca's hands slapped her jeans hard when they fell to her sides. She sarcastically smiled and huffed, "Well that's actually just great. I'm glad you're not only ruining our family but you're ruining my life in the process."

"Beca, that's not fair -" Dr Mitchell tried to protest, but Beca was already out the door before he could say anymore.

As she walked out of the building, she could hear her mother's voice, "I'm sorry, this has all just been really hard on her-"

* * *

 _Present Day -_

After over an hour in silence, Beca began to pace the floor of the hallway. Her feet dragged on the hardwood, making as much sound as possible. She walked back and forth in front of the door, scratching at her hands, and leaving red marks down her arms. By now she had put her hair up into a bun and put on a pullover as protection from the air conditioning. She cracked her knuckles often and made noise whenever she had the chance. Eventually, she gave up on Chloe coming out and grabbed her computer to work on another mix. Across from Chloe's door, she sat cross legged with her laptop, scrolling through her mixes.

* * *

 _Nine Years Prior -_

Beca sat in her room with her headphones pressed against her ears. The huge headset brushed her hair into a mess. Her eyes were bloodshot from staring at her computer all night. Boxes filled the room around her. Her father had to yell ten times to stand a fighting chance against the music in Beca's ears. When he finally got her attention she peeled the headphones down to her neck and let the music play aloud. "Beca, you need to finish packing. The van will be here any minute."

Beca rolled her eyes and shut her laptop. Before she could stand up, her dad was throwing DJ equipment into a nearby empty box. "Dad, stop. You can't just throw all of that in there." Beca grabbed his arm and he gave her a stern look back.

"Fine. Whatever. Just get it packed up, okay? We're leaving soon whether you have your stuff or not. I'll leave it here." Angrily, Dr. Mitchell left the room and went back to packing his own items.

Beca rolled her eyes and grabbed a small suitcase from the corner of her room. Carefully she packed each piece of her equipment into the bag. When she was finished, she placed her laptop on top and zipped it up. By then, the movers were carrying boxes out to the truck and they were ready to leave.

Her mother came up to say goodbye and Beca noted that saying goodbye would mean she wasn't planning on sticking around. Her mother was defeatedly calm. When Beca and her mother hugged, a mover attempted to take her suitcase to the van, but Beca them away. Her mother reminded her to watch her temper and Beca told her to do better for herself when she starts over, which didn't receive a response. Her parents gave a respectful goodbye to one another and Beca could hardly keep from gagging. She quickly grabbed her equipment and arranged herself in the passenger's seat of the truck. Her father followed her in a few moments later.

Dr. Mitchell jumped into the driver's seat and they started driving. Immediately, Beca tried to put her earbuds back on, but her dad put a hand over them before she could. "Hey." He said, "I wanted to talk to you about something."

Beca put her headphones in her lap and stared at her father's turned head. "What now?" she asked.

Dr Mitchell reached into his back pocket and pulled out a brochure, which he then placed on the center console, "Well, since I'm going to be a professor at Bardon, you can go to college there for free and I was thinking maybe you could check it out. And they have a music major, I think."

Beca laughed at her father and his face fell straight. He furrowed his eyebrow at her laugh, "Dad, I'm not going to college."

* * *

 _Present Day -_

Chloe sat up in bed as soon as she heard the faintest sound from the other side of the door. She rushed to the door and pressed her ear against the inch thick wood. Through it, she heard muffled chords play from a soundtrack. The key, the words, and the flow were more familiar than anything she had ever heard in her entire life. Suddenly, her throat was dry and her lungs were deprived of oxygen. The song built up louder and Chloe could hear computer keys turning the track into something more. On the other side of the wall Chloe listened to the masked sound of David Guetta singing to her in the hall. Chloe put her eye through the peephole and she could clearly see Beca across the hall, staring once again at her computer.

* * *

 _Eight Years Prior -_

Beca strolled her slouched shoulders down the fall coated, brick path. Around her, crowds of people rushed from one spot to the next. Beca shook her head at their excitement and continued down the road, almost entirely uninterested. Leaves fell off the courtyard trees around her and she watched the fall sky start to rise. She walked over to a few booths to look and collected a few pamphlets, but threw them away after only few steps of holding them. A few people tried to talk to her about their activities, but she just gave them a small smile and shrugged them off. Eventually, towards the end, something did catch her attention, but it wasn't a booth.

When she looked up from one booth, Beca found herself staring relentlessly at a red head across from her, who was staring right back. Beca's eyes pondered the red head's cerulean eyes. Finally, they locked grit and the girl waved her over. Beca looked behind her to ensure the girl wanted her attention, then casually walked up. As she did she noticed the girl was running a booth. When she approached the red head handed her a flyer for an acapella group, which seemed to be the closest musical activity Bardon had to being a DJ. The redhead rambled for a moment and Beca pretended to listen to everything.

"So, are you interested?"

"I'm sorry, uh, it's just, it's, pretty lame."


	7. Chapter 7 - Soulmates

**Hey all! Got the new chapter done early! Now, as a note, I got a review last week that the switching times were confusing. They asked me if I could write some in present time and some in the past but with less switching. I am wondering, is this how others feel? Is it too confusing? Is this chapter better? Let me know what you think please! Hopefully you guys like this chapter and as always let me know how you feel. Reviews help me write chapters faster to be honest. Follow me on tumblr - ezrajclarke - for questions and comments. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Soulmates_

 _Present Day -_

When the door swung open, it screamed. Light flooded through the darkness in the hall. The momentum fanned air through the foyer. The door hit the drywall with a smash. It swung inward once again, but didn't make it far. The abrupt sounds caught Beca's attention. The empty house echoed Titanium from her laptop speakers.

The room filled with frigid air.

The mix on Beca's desktop mirrored in her eyes when she looked up. The computer screen lit up her face and instinctively made her squint. Gazing upward curved her eyebrows up to a sarcastic yet hopeful stare, which beamed in Chloe's direction. Chloe's eyes staring back at her, though Beca couldn't see them fully in the silhouette of the background of her laptop. Even in the dark Beca could hear Chloe breath heavily from crying. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. She tried to brush them away with her forearm.

Beca cleared her throat.

Chloe folded her hands over one another and continued to stare. Beca crumbled her shoulders until she hunched inward toward her computer. Her nails dug into wrist once again, burning red marks into her skin and letting anxiety rush over her. Chloe gulped, closed her eyes, then took a deep breath in. She licked her lips before speaking.

"I'm listening," She noted.

Beca pulled her computer from her lap and pushed herself to cross her legs and sit up. Still, her shoulders slouched. "listening?" She inquired in the most youthful tone she could manage.

The redhead shook her head roughly, "Yes Beca, I'm listening." She rolled her eyes in frustration. "I'm listening because I want to know what the hell gave you the right to do that, any of that." Chloe motioned toward the living room they spent their evening in and Beca followed her point.

Beca's eyes quickly gazed at the floor, "I'm sorry."

"No, Beca," Chloe pointed at Beca and she dented her eyebrows in, "You can't just do that. You can't walk back into my life and tell everyone that you think about me everyday like that. You can't sit outside my door and act like you fucking care now. You're the one that left, remember?" Chloe's expression was boiling red with anger.

Beca's eyes swiveled around to everywhere but Chloe. "I-I don't know what to say Chlo."

Chloe coughed and smiled, apathetically. Her nostrils flared, "Exactly," she motioned towards Beca, "You don't know, but whatever the hell makes you think that you can walk back in her and call me Chlo and play that song outside my door, get it the fuck out of your head." She rubbed her hands over her forehead and grabbed some of her hair tight in both hands.

Beca pulled a hand from her lap and put its weight on the top of her laptop. The laptop closed and the repeated mix abruptly stopped playing. The last bit of light faded and the girls were once again left in the dark. Beca nodded her head and stood up in front of Chloe. Strands of her bun fell onto her cheeks and her shirt drifted over her hips. "You're right," she remarked, swallowing once again. Silence betwixt the girls and Chloe waited for more to come. Her throat grew dry in the wait and her heartbeat beat out the silence. In the lack of silhouette, Beca could finally see the emotions engorged on her ex-fiancee's face. Her face grew flush and she took a step back from her ex fiancee. They were still inches away from one another. Beca stared into Chloe's eyes and nodded in understanding. "You're right. I have no right to do any of those things and I'm sorry. Not just for that, but I'm sorry for hurting you the way I did and I know that won't ever make it okay. I don't expect that to make anything better, but-" Beca cleared her throat, hardly getting out the rest of her sentence without her voice cracking, "I'm just so sorry, Chloe." Chloe and Beca's eyes crossed. Beca's were glossed with tears that Chloe would never see roll down her cheeks. Chloe's were both fire and ice with overwhelming emotion. The moment lasted just as quickly as it faded.

The front door jiggled open and a swarm of drunken girls stumbled in the doorway. In a rush, they all pushed through the small doorway and burst into the foyer. They were anything but quiet, laughing and screaming as if they weren't all right next to another. The copious amounts of alcohol could be smelt from miles away, which made both girls curious of how the rest got back to lodge safely. Stacy eventually pushed in front of the rest and turned the lights on from the foyer and throughout the hallway.

The room went noiseless and every girl in the room suddenly stared at the two at the top of the steps as if they were on center stage. Chloe and Beca exchanged a brief but nervous look with each other and split ways just as fast. In the foyer, Stacy and Aubrey exchanged a look. They each furrowed their eyebrows and stood still when the rest of the girls crawled up the stairs to go to bed. Suddenly the newly engaged couple stood sober. Aubrey swallowed the lump in her throat and finally mumbled her thoughts. "Did they just look like -"

"Suspicious?" Stacy started at a grin, "I think they looked very suspicious."

Aubrey shot a disapproving look back at her girlfriend, "Stace, I'm serious. I'm worried about them. Do you think you could go talk to Beca for me? I just, I feel like this is all my fault. If I had known that Chloe was coming, I never would've talked Beca into -"

Stacy put a reassuring hand on Aubrey's back and nodded, "I know. It's not your fault. I'll go to Beca, you go to Chloe."

Aubrey started up the staircase and mouthed "thank you" when she turned into Chloe's room. Stacy nodded back at her girlfriend and then leapt to the end of the hallway and into Beca's room. Without knocking, Stacy opened the door as quietly as she could in her rather tipsy state. Across the room, Beca stared at her laptop with red eyes. The screen sat on repeat of titanium, spastically replaying 'bulletproof, nothing to lose.' Beca sat at a desk staring at the screen, but didn't move an inch. Her headphones still swung around her neck. Her arms and legs were numb from staying so still.

Stacy shut the bedroom door opened behind her, but Beca didn't flinch, "Are you okay?"

Beca swiveled in her chair and wiped her cheeks dry, "I don't know what I am, Conrad."

Stacy nodded and sat down on Beca's bed, swinging her small pocket book off her arm and watched it bounce. "I know-" she trailed off looking around the room. "-you still care about her." Her eyes fell on Beca.

Beca's eyebrows lifted to make room for her widening eyes. Both fell just as quickly as they came. She shook her head. "I think I'll always care about her, Conrad."

Stacy nodded and half-heartedly smiled. She put on hand on Beca's knee and smiled with her lips. "You know, if you ever need someone to talk to -"

"I know," Beca interrupted, "Thank you. But I think I'm just going to try to sleep."

Stacy opened her mouth to speak, but instead pulled herself to her feet. "Right. Okay, well, goodnight." Stacy nodded and Beca nodded back.

Stacy pulled the door shut to Beca's room. As she did, Amy walked out of the bathroom across the hall and caught Stacy's attention. Amy pointed at Beca's door behind her and looked her in the eye. "She told you she was going to try and sleep, didn't she?"

Stacy nodded, feeling her eyelids grow heavy. "How did you know?"

"Beca, well, She's complicated. More now than she even was before. I don't know if you know much about her life before Bardon and it's not my place to say, but when we were roommates she told me that when she didn't want to talk. It took a few years to get her to talk to me and I think now, she's back in that shell of hers." Amy walked to her door. Stacy nodded in understanding. She tried to think about the last time Amy was so serious about something.

"Thanks Amy."

Down the hall, Aubrey jiggled open Chloe's door and walked inside. Chloe jolted up out of bed in shock, only to relax when she recognized Aubrey. "Hey, are you alright?"

Chloe's eyes opened and shut repeatedly. Her eyes were bloodshot and surrounded by dark circles. When Aubrey walked closer she slid her legs off the bed and sat up. Her elbows rested on her knees. "I don't know Bree." Her voice shattered into a million pieced. Her strength was gone, "I don't know how I ever could be."

Aubrey's shoulders shrank to comfort her best friend. Her hand wrapped around Chloe's shoulder and the other rested on Chloe's hand. "I'm so sorry. If I had known you were going to be here this week, I never would've -"

Chloe shook her head. "No, it's okay. It had to happen eventually, and I'd rather do it here where I have so much support." Aubrey smiled and rubbed the redhead's back when she mentioned having support. "I just. I don't know how to do this. It's been three years and I wish I were in a better place - but I'm not. And every time I think I'm over her it all comes rushing back and I remember that nobody has ever come close to what we had and all I want to do is be with her and call her and I hate it." Words jumbled out of Chloe's mouth fast. She paused and waited for the reassurance that she was making sense, "And I hate it because I can't trust her and as much as I want to with all of my heart, how could I ever be friends with her?"

"I know this is hard Chloe. And as much as I want to tell you that it's going to get easier, I don't think it ever will. I think the best you can do is your best and at the end of the day, that's what you have to tell yourself. If you can't be friends, you did your best." Aubrey gave the best advice she could, though she couldn't imagine a life without Stacy.

Chloe wiped the tears from her eyes before they rolled down her cheeks, "Bree, do you believe in soulmates?"

Aubrey got up from the bed and let Chloe lay down. "I don't know Chloe," She walked out to the doorway, "But I do believe that tomorrow is a new day to do the best we can." Chloe nodded and Aubrey turned her light out.

She closed the door quietly and noticed Stacy entering their room down the hall. Once the door was shut, she dashed down the hall and leapt in behind her girlfriend. Stacy stared at her with surprise at how quickly she rushed in. Aubrey looked her fiance in the eyes and shut the door behind her. She locked it. "Do you think Beca regrets what happened?" She asked immediately.

Aubrey's girlfriend nodded skeptically as she laid down in bed. "Of course she is. With all of her heart and soul, you can see it in her eyes." Stacy pulled the blanket out from under herself and wrapped up in it. "Why?"

"And you don't think she would ever hurt Chloe again?" Aubrey asked, slowly making her way to bed.

Stacy thought to herself for a moment. "I don't think she ever wanted to in the first place." She finally said. Aubrey pulled out her side of the blanket before laying down, then climbed into bed next to her fiancee. As she did, she turned out the light on her side table and snuggled up under the blanket. In the dark, Stacy wrapped her arms around her fiancee and squeezed tight. Stacy closed her eyes and snuggled into the nape of Aubrey's neck. "Why do you ask?" She inquired, opening her eyes once more before falling asleep.

Aubrey stared at the closet across from her side of the bed. Her shoulders were even more tense than they usually were. Her hair wrapped around her face and her eyes popped in the light drifting in from the moon. Stacy could feel the difference in her presence and adjusted to hold Aubrey as tight as possible. "Because I think they're soulmates."


	8. Chapter 8 - Coffee vs Sleep

**Hi all! Sorry for the late update (I feel like I always start with this) I actually just moved into an apartment and we were getting everything settled this week. Thank you for your patience with me! Next chapter is going to be interesting! As always I feel more motivated with reviews/favorites/follows so please always feel free to tell me good and bad! Thank you for the overwhelming encouragement to keep switching the times! I appreciate the support! On another note, I wonder how many people actually read this? If you do keep up, give it a follow or a favorite or maybe just a review to let me know? Thanks so much! As always, hopes? Dreams? Where do you think this is going? Follow me on tumblr for updates/questions/etc ezrajclarke and enjoy!**

* * *

 _Coffee vs Sleep_

 _Present Day -_

The lodge was a noiseless space of empty hallways when the sunrise peaked through the windows. It bounced off the walls and whitened the carpet with natural light. It highlighted the scratches and stains on the old tapestry. Cold air pushed through the vents and started a subtle hum. The California morning was crisply warm with fresh fall air, despite it still being sixty degrees. Five o'clock in the morning did not suit the girls well. Almost every room brimmed with snoring that could be heard from miles away.

Beca turned the handle of her door and pulled the door up with both hands, then slide it from the frame. The door opened with a creak that only seemed loud because it was early. Still, she crept out the door and gently closed it behind her. She walked with her toes in front of her heels and slipped down the stairs as quietly as she could. She slipped into the kitchen and pulled out a mug from one of the cabinets. It took a few minutes to get acquainted with the kitchen before she found the means to make herself a cup of coffee.

She stared at the machine with swollen black eyes, watching the coffee drip. The white of her eyes had grown into a rose red, which made the blue of her iris a focal point. Her joints ached and throbbed, even when she stood still. Her hair curled around her pale skin and knotted around the edges of her shoulders. She hadn't changed from the night before. Her sweats still clung to the dent of her hips. Her shirt slung around her neck and fell off her opposing shoulder. Her feet grew cold against the tile in the kitchen. She browsed the cabinets again to look for sweetener, but this time found no such luck. She took the coffee off the counter and took a gulp before downing it like a shot.

* * *

 _Three and a Half Years Prior -_

Music filled the cubby office practically hidden on the east wing of the house. A slice of one track played repetitively in different tones. The sound echoed out to the walls, where it was absorbed by the sound proof foam hung around the room. Emily Junk's voice repeated a line over and over from the boas speakers on the corner of Beca's desk. Once with harmonies, once without, one with louder bass, and one with dulled drums. Keys tapped hard against the mac, often pausing and playing tracks over and under Emily's voice.

Beat headphones hung around Beca's neck, which pushed the collar of her flannel down flat. Beca scratched her forehead lightly and ran her fingers through the part of her hair. She tapped her foot to the ever changing music and closed her eyes to listen closely. She bobbed her head to the back track. Her hands morphed into the hands of a band director, marking each place in the music that she knew by heart. She changed the music like clockwork using musically trained ears.

Chloe crept in the crack of the door, with a coffee in each hand. Her eyes beamed at the back of Beca's head as she listened to the track play over. "I think it sounds really good." Beca swiveled in her chair and stared at her girlfriend with tired eyes. She perked up when she noticed the coffee.

"Thanks," She noted, dully. Her eyes drifted down to the floor where she anxiously rubbed her feet against one another. When Chloe didn't speak up, she turned back to the laptop on her desk.

Chloe walked in and placed the coffee on a coaster off to the side of Beca's work. "I brought you black, but I brought sugar and splenda in case you don't hate your life." Beca cocked her eyebrow and Chloe, "I think that people who drink just black coffee hate their lives." She laughed and Beca smirked.

"Thanks Babe."

Chloe smiled with all of her teeth. Her eyes glistened a light shade of blue as the light caught her eye. "Of course. You know, I feel obligated to tell you that you should get some sleep and try again in the morning, but I know you won't listen so - let me know if there's anything I can do to help." Chloe smirked and turned in the frame of the door to leave.

Beca swiveled back around with a suspicious look plastered over her exhaust, "You know, there is one thing."

Chloe narrowed her eyes when she looked over her shoulder, "What?" Beca used her eyes to motion at the single vocal recording booth they had installed in the house. She then gave Chloe a knowing look. Chloe folded her arms, "You want me to sing?"

Beca played the track again with harmonies, "This line is almost perfect, but the harmony isn't what I want. Do you think you could sing this line over in G sharp for me?"

Chloe couldn't hide the smile dancing on the corners of her mouth. She leaned against the door to shut it and folded her arms over one another, "Are you sure you want my voice on your next multi-platinum album? It's not exactly legendary."

Beca pulled herself to her feet and wrapped her arms around Chloe's neck. Chloe dropped her shoulders and swung her arms instinctively around Beca's hips. Beca didn't move her eyes off Chloe's, "If I could, I would put your voice on every track because your voice will always be legendary to me." Chloe couldn't help but blush.

* * *

 _Present Day -_

Aubrey was walking downstairs to start breakfast when she found Beca sulking at the kitchen table. She stopped halfway down the staircase and watched. Beca took another sip of coffee and roughly put it down on the dinner table. From ten feet away Aubrey could tell she hadn't slept for days. The dark circles around her eyes were made apparent. The darkness made them look like two black eyes. Her skin was pasty and made her look sick. As Beca stood up, her legs shook, so she leaned on the table. Beca stumbled her way to the sink and tried to wash out the coffee stained mug.

Aubrey approached the kitchen cautiously and leaned on the archway. Judgement was written across her face. Her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes narrowed. She watched Beca rub the sleep from her eyes and yawn. "Beca, how long has it been since you slept?" Aubrey's tone was worrisome. Her questions and concern were what would make her a great mom in the future.

Beca leapt a few feet in the air and abruptly turned around. All of her body weight pushed hard against the kitchen counter, "Good question."

Aubrey nodded her head knowingly, then began getting ready for breakfast, "You know, Beca, the girls and I are always going to be here if you decide -"

The brunette shook her head frustratedly, "You know, I actually don't want to talk right now. I think I'm going to get a shower." Beca stumbled toward the staircase in a haste and Aubrey turned to watch her walk away. Beca grabbed the rail of the staircase and pulled herself up each step. She tried to keep it as fast as she could, feeling all of her joints ache as she went. Her knees shook when she put her weight on them and her arms shook when she pulled on the rail. Before she could make it to the top of the steps, Beca tripped on the edge of one and tripped up the staircase. As she fell she rammed her head into the floor and she immediately lost consciousness. Aubrey immediately ran to her side.

"Beca! Beca? Beca?"

* * *

 _Three and a Half Years Prior -_

"I think I'm going to propose to Beca."

"You what?"

Aubrey and Chloe sat in Aubrey's living room. Aubrey was folding laundry and Chloe daydreamed on the couch. Still, Aubrey stared at Chloe with wide, panicked eyes. Her irises were wide and bolded against the white walls. Chloe pulled her eyes away from the skylight to look at her best friend before she repeated herself. This time she spoke even louder to ensure being heard, "I think I'm going to propose to Beca."

Aubrey gulped and folded her arms. Her shoulders tensed inward to her spine. She bit her lip and didn't break eye contact. "Chlo, you guys haven't even made it to two years, are you sure?"

Chloe nodded to Aubrey's point and sat up straight, "I've been thinking about it for a while now and I just. I love her, Brey. She's everything I've ever wanted in a person and I don't want to lose her. And I don't think we're like other couples. Yeah, we haven't been dating for so long, but we've been friends for so long I don't think it matters. I mean right after college we moved in together and we hadn't made it to a year yet - and now we have a house."

Aubrey nodded to Chloe as she ranted and took in the information before speaking again. "Yeah, you're right, you guys have moved fast. But, I just don't think there should be such a rush, you know? I think you should enjoy being together." Aubrey examined Chloe's eyes as they faded down to the floor. Her shoulders sank into the couch and her eyes began to swell. "But um," Aubrey cleared her throat. "Relationships are about how you feel, so if you think you guys are ready, I'm always going to support you."

Chloe half heartedly smiled and nodded, "Yeah, you're right."

* * *

 _Present Day -_

The crowd of girls whispered between themselves around the kitchen counter. It was nearing nine o'clock in the morning and the sun had risen high in the sky. The day was hot with a perfect breeze for the beach, which is what Aubrey had planned. The dining room table was set with an array of breakfast items from french toast to pancakes and all of the in between. Girls chattered amongst themselves in an uncomfortably quiet tone for the group's usual volume. Still, Aubrey whispered to them to keep their voices down and unbelievably they got quieter. When Chloe came in from her jog, her eyebrows furrowed at the hushed tones.

Chloe turned the corner and entered the kitchen. She looked around the room and most eyes stared back at her. The room dropped to silence and Chloe's throat swelled from the attention. Aubrey hastily cleared her throat and the girls resumed eating breakfast, still not speaking. Chloe eyed Aubrey from across the table and Aubrey bit her lip. The girls eyes moved from Chloe to Aubrey and back again, waiting for something to happen. "What's going on?" Chloe finally cleared her throat.

Aubrey sat the coffee in her hand on the kitchen counter and slouched her shoulders. Her eyes peered around the room in thought and Chloe folded her arms in anticipation, "Beca collapsed this morning." Aubrey swallowed hard.

Chloe crinkled and raised her eyebrows, "collapsed?" She repeated in disbelief.

The girl's attention crossed the room to Aubrey. Aubrey scanned over them and then stared back at Chloe. She leaned her weight on the counter and rested her hands on her hips. "This morning, I got up early. She was sitting down here alone and she looked like she hadn't slept for days. When I asked her about it she tried to go to her room, but she collapsed walking up the stairs and -"

"Oh my god, is she okay?" Chloe interrupted, blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

Aubrey nodded, "Yeah, she's fine. She hit her head pretty hard and she passed out -"

Chloe looked around the room, her eyes welling with tears. She shook her head, frustrated. She looked at the girls sitting at the table and motioned to them, "And you all think, that she didn't sleep, because of me?"

The girls exchanged glances that explained without saying a word. Chloe turned away from the group and shuffled to the staircase. "Chloe, wait." Aubrey followed closely behind and grabbed Chloe's wrist. Chloe turned back, an eyebrow raised. "She's asleep right now. Maybe you should let her get some rest."

Chloe ripped her wrist from Aubrey's grip, "I will." She noted, jogging up the stairs.


	9. Chapter 9 - Waiting

**Hey Everyone! Trying really hard to post every week if possible. Of course some chapters will be harder to write and I'm going back to college soon so hopefully that won't mess anything up. As always, thoughts? Hopes? Dreams? Reviews inspire me! Even Critiques! Anything you have to say helps! I love to know what people think. I am always curious. Follow me on tumblr, ezrajclarke. And, well, enjoy!**

* * *

 _Waiting_

 _Present Day -_

The bright morning quickly swelled with overcast. The clouds were like gunmetal and charcoal floating in the sky. The wind blew stiffly against the siding of the lodge. It's howl could be heard in every room, often filling the silences between conversation. The natural light in the lodge dulled into shade. Every cloud that passed over the sun showed time pass on the hardwood floors. Humidity dampened with the clouds and the temperature was left on a sixty five degree stand still. The white of the walls mirrored artificial light.

Beca hadn't woken up for twelve hours and Chloe refused to leave the lodge. Aubrey attempted to get the rest of the girls to leave for the beach, but none of them had the motivation. Instead, they sat in semi circle around the fireplace, making the most of yet another day in the lodge. Aubrey made hot tea and the girls sat and talked amongst themselves. Chloe could hear their chatter from Beca's room. Aubrey briskly switched between the two locations, playing hostess as she always had.

"I appreciate all of you sticking around, but I feel so bad. This trip hasn't exactly been what I planned." Aubrey noted, handing Stacy another cup of tea and sitting next to her.

Emily sat up on the couch, crossed her legs, and shook her head, "Aubrey, I honestly think this is the best way we could spend this week." The other girls nodded in agreement, "I mean the whole point of the reunion is catching up on everyone's lives and I think I know more this year then I think I have the last few."

"Yeah, like uh -" Cynthia rose took off her hat and readjusted its position, "like I didn't even know Amy and Bumper moved back to Los Angeles and this year they've been talking about kids!"

The girls all smiled at Amy and Amy confidently smirked, "well, idk about _kids,_ Maybe one, but who knows how they'll turn out with us as parents." The room filled with laughter.

"Oh and Emily is looking to record her third album this year!" Cynthia Rose motioned to Emily, who humbly blushed. The girls panned toward the center of attention each time she pointed.

Emily shrugged her shoulders and motioned to Jessica, "And Jessica's writing her own book."

Aubrey looked back and forth at her old friends and a smile tugged at her lips. Stacy then tapped her on her shoulder, "and we know that Beca and Chloe are still in love." She made her comment in a low voice so it wouldn't travel. The girls all raised their eyebrows, knowingly in agreement. Aubrey gave them all a disapproving look back.

"Come on Aubrey, we all know they belong together. They're Beca and Chloe. They're a wreck without each other." Ashley spoke up.

"Yeah and everyone loved them together." Amy added, with an almost serious face.

Stacy tugged at her fiancee's wrist, "Come on, don't you remember how happy they made each other?"

"I do." Aubrey subtly agreed, "but I also remember how easily they destroyed each other."

Everyone fell silent. They looked around the room and exchanged silent, deciding looks. Stacy shrugged and stood up. "Well personally, I think we need to get them back together."

* * *

 _Four and a Half Years Prior -_

Boxes piled to the top of the bella house. Girls ran from left to right packing the last of their materials up to leave Bardon University. Most of them had put off packing until after Worlds and they had less than a week to get everything out before the school closed for the summer. The parking lot out front was filled with moving vans and cars with girls directing everything to go from the house to a specific van. The sun was beaming down on their hard work and the house was filled with chaos. The girls were borderline tears throughout the entire day. Leaving Bardon was much harder than any of them could've imagined their freshman year and they had all come a long way.

Beca walked in front of Stacy, each with boxes in their hands walking down the stairs. Chloe was at the bottom of the stairs with a box of her own, pulling out a flannel and looking up at Beca, "Do you want this back?" She smiled, her face still red from previous crying spills.

Beca shrugged her shoulders and smiled, "Chlo you've had that since freshman year. I think it's considered yours now."

Chloe smirked, obviously getting the answer she wanted. She then stuffed the article of clothing back in her box and walked out the door. Stacy eyed the back of Beca's head, "You didn't tell her, did you?"

Beca sighed, "nope, I went all the way upstairs, knocked on her door at like four in the morning and I swear I couldn't get it out of my mouth."

Stacy nudged Beca's back with the box in her arms, "Beca, you have to tell her. It's now or never."

Beca swallowed as she watched Chloe walk out the front door. She walked out and placed her box in a moving truck. She walked back inside and Amy sat a box down at the bottom of the staircase. Stacy winked at Beca when she walked in and Amy took note, "What're we talking about?" She smirked, always wanting to know.

Stacy folded up blankets in the living room and laughed, "Beca's toner for Chloe."

Emily walked in the front door, "Wait, Beca has a toner for Chloe?"

Aubrey walked out of the kitchen when she overheard the chatter, "Since, like, freshman year, where have you been?"

Beca stared at all of them with wide eyes and tense shoulders, "Seriously, does everyone have to know about this?"

Chloe bumped into Emily on her way in, "know about what?" She perked up over Emily's shoulder. Emily showed her bottom teeth and raised her eyebrows as she side stepped. Stacy bit her lip and went back to folding clothes and Aubrey laughed. Amy took a step back and the room was all of a sudden awfully quiet.

Beca scoffed, "uh-"

Stacy fakely coughed, "Now or never, Mitchell."

Chloe glanced at Stacy. Her eyes drifted to Beca. Beca looked back like a deer in headlights. From behind her Amy shoved Beca closer to Chloe, who stepped forward. Chloe raised an eyebrow, "Becs, what're they talking about?"

Beca stuffed her hands in her pockets and wobbled back and forth. She took a deep breath and stared at her converse. When she looked up her eyes met Chloe's staring. Chloe folded her arms, waiting for a response. "It's really nothing." Beca noted and an audible sigh came from every other girl in the house.

Chloe furrowed her brows and licked her lips. Her expression quickly turned to slight frustration, "Well it doesn't really seem like nothing. I thought we weren't keeping secrets anymore."

Beca's shoulders tense and she immediately spoke up. Her arms crossed back and forth in front of her, "No, no, no. It's nothing like that Chlo -" She cleared her throat when her voice started to crack. Everyone in the room stared and Beca rolled her eyes. She bit her lip before speaking again. "It's just that I um, well, I just, I've kind of had this thing, for you."

Chloe looked puzzled, but she was smiling, "A thing?"

"Well yeah, um, like, I, um -" Words failed Beca and she glanced around the room. The surrounding Bella's gave her head nods to continue on. Beca looked back into Chloe's eyes and took a deep breath. Before Chloe couldn't think, Beca put a hand on her cheek and pull their lips together. Chloe's eyes first widened in response to the soft lips against her own, but slowly she adjusted to Beca's first move and she closed her eyes as well. Beca then started to pull back, but Chloe rested her hands on Beca's hips and led the kiss deeper. The audible sighs turned into squeals of enjoyment and the two finally broke apart. They suddenly felt to be the only two in the room. They looked each other in the eyes again and Beca swallowed hard.

"I like you Chloe. I have for longer than I can remember. I like you and I don't think I can imagine ever losing you."

* * *

 _Present Day -_

Each time Chloe blinked, her eyes stayed closed longer. As the day drifted into evening, she started to fall asleep. She tried to sit up in the chair to stay awake longer, but she could hardly keep her eyes open. She stared at Beca with bags under her own eyes, drifting slowly off to sleep. When Aubrey walked in, she laid an extra blanket over Chloe, which woke her up with a jump. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Aubrey whispered.

Chloe shook her head and readjusted her position. "It's okay. I don't want to sleep. Just a rough night last night."

Aubrey handed her the extra cup of coffee in her hand. "I'm not going to try and fight you, but you know you have to take care of yourself too."

Chloe nodded, not taking her eyes off Beca. She sighed, "Brey, I don't even know what I'm doing, you know? Sitting here, waiting for her to wake up, watching her sleep, and changing the ice pack on her forehead. She left me. I shouldn't be sitting here trying to take care of her. And I shouldn't feel so fucking shitty about yelling at her last night but here I am, taking care of her and feeling no better than I did the day she left."

Aubrey pulled a chair up next to her best friend and nodded as she spoke. She swallowed and sat her cup down before responding, "I don't think anything I say will make you feel better, but I'll say this. If Stacy was the one who left me and I was in your exact position, I'd be doing exactly what you're doing now. I don't think I could stop myself from taking care of her even if I tried. And I know that must be hard to hear."

Chloe shook her head, "No. It makes me feel a little better, I think. Do you think it's bad that she's been asleep this long?"

Aubrey licked her lips and looked over at the sleeping brunette. "I don't think so. I think she needed the rest." Out of the corner of her eye, Aubrey noticed a pill bottle on the edge of Beca's nightstand. Aubrey rubbed Chloe's knee reassuringly, "I'll be right back." As she exited the room, she pulled the bottle from the stand and slipped out the door.

Aubrey quickly dashed out the front door and dialed a number on her phone. She tapped on her legs, waiting for someone to pick up the other line. The wind howled in her ears and through the phone which created a static sound. The evening briskly touched her fair skin and gave her goosebumps. The sound of the highway echoed car horns and burning tires. The gravel beneath her feet rubbed against each other and sunk down with every step she took. In her hands she read the pill bottle to herself.

 _Beca Mitchell, Triazolam. Take one pill when unable to sleep._

"Come on, pick up." She whispered to herself.

"Go for Swanson." Jesse's voice made Aubrey jump.

"Jesse?" Aubrey asked, as if she wasn't the one who called.

"Aubrey? Is that you? God It's been forever, what's up?" He sounded happy.

"Yeah, listen, have you heard from Beca since she moved?" She asked, biting her lip and anxiously moving around.

"Um, well, not exactly. She keeps in touch about the studio, clients and what not. I check in every once in awhile, but ever since she's moved she's been pretty off the map. Why have you?"

Aubrey swallowed. "Well, more recently, but I was wondering, is there anyway you can check how many hours she works?"

Jesse stuttered, "Umm.. Yeah, I guess I could. Uh, well, from the computer, it says she's on vacation - which is weird. She hasn't taken a vacation in years. And before that, She was working almost fifty hours a week. And late too. She's been in pretty early, but she usually doesn't leave till past midnight. What's all this about?"

"Well, I just found out she has insomnia." Aubrey noted, staring at her google search of the medicine.

"Oh yeah, that? She mentioned that when she got diagnosed. The first week she took the meds they gave her and she said it threw her off in the studio so she stopped taking them, but if I'm being honest with you - I don't even know if it counts as insomnia."

"What do you mean?" Aubrey asked, sticking the medication in her pocket.

"Well to be honest, the only time I ever saw Beca Mitchell sleep well was when she was dating Chloe and after they broke up, She used to call me at three in the morning trying to talk about work - not even realizing how late it was."

"Okay, thanks Jesse."

Jesse tried to ask why but Aubrey hung up the phone while he was talking. For a second, she stopped and bit her nail. "Hm."

Aubrey walked back into the lodge and back to the group of girls. They all gave her attention when she walked in. She smiled at them and put her phone in her pocket, "So ladies, what's the plan?"


	10. Chapter 10 - Good Morning

**Hey all! Thank you for your comments and reviews. I appreciate your support! As always please feel free to comment and tell me what you're thinking, ideas, comments, concerns. Follow me on tumblr - ezrajclarke - for questions, comments, and concerns. Reviews always help me write faster. I love writing, I hope you all are enjoying reading. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

 _Good Morning_

 _Present Day -_

The temperature dropped ten degrees from the evening into night. Wind howled through the windows and dim hallways. Fog grew around the lodge and dew started to form on the grass. Pitch black draped over the sky, highlighting it's milky freckles. Shadows swelled everything under the moon and the windows mirrored the crescent outside. The charcoal in the fireplace smoldered under the lingering water. Inside the lodge, the only light that remained was the light at the end of the hall - the one that filled Beca's room and leaked through the oak door. Most of the girls were in bed or at least dispersed to their own rooms by ten.

Chloe sat at the edge of her chair, on the side of Beca's bed. She leaned on the cotton bedding, staring with wide eyes at the brunette. Beca shuffled under the blankets and the discolored bruising on her forehead rose to the surface. The redhead scanned over her ex. She pulled a hand from under the blanket and moved it towards Beca's face. Her hands shook with the cold and her nerves. Quickly, her cold fingertips met the warmth of Beca's forehead and she swept brown bangs away from the bruising.

Beca instinctively swatted at her face and shifted her positioning once more. As she turned over, her hands drifted limply to her sides and her palms faced outward. Chloe brought her blanket out from under her arms to lay it over top, but stopped abruptly when noticing the ink embedded into her wrist. Chloe turned her head and narrowed her eyes for better viewing. There she read cursive, bold writing that was still healing from recent weeks. Her lips curled downward and her pupils dilated. The heartbeat in her chest grew strong.

 _Learn to Love_

* * *

 _Four Years Prior -_

Fall was at full bloom in Atlanta, Georgia. Winds kicked up between city buildings and trees burst with vibrant colors. The leaves swept the streets and floated in altitudes across the sky. Busy streets wrapped themselves in scarves and hands filled with pumpkin spice lattes. Kids dressed up in costumes and walked from door to door. The city brimmed with screams and laughter as the holiday season set in. It was the perfect timing for the annual fall festival at the zoo.

Chloe dragged Beca back and forth to different attractions, admiring animals of all kinds. Both were decked in halloween facepaint, despite Beca's uninterest of having anything on her face. Chloe wore a loose red flannel, where the collar clung to her neck, and ripped jeans from the knees down. Her hair was draped behind her shoulders and matched the autumn colors around them. Beca was still dressed from work, wearing a rather revealing pant suit with a deep collar line. Her hair was right in between wavy and curly, tied with a small clip in the back to keep it away from her eyes.

Chloe pointed to the back of a tiger exhibit to a small cub that hid behind the cover of a few trees, "Look, Becs! He's so cute!"

Beca edged closer to her girlfriend and narrowed her eyes, bobbing her head back and forth as she looked, "What? Where? I don't see it."

Beca looked at Chloe and Chloe put her head close to Beca's and pointed again in front of Beca's face, "He's right -" Chloe moved her finger until it was directly over the cub, "there! You see?" Chloe looked back at Beca and stared into Beca's eyes.

The brunette continued to look while Chloe stared at her. Finally, her squint faded into an excited smile, "Oh, There! I see him! Aw, Chlo, he's so cute." Beca turned to her girlfriend who was now inches away from her face.

The girls stared into one another's eyes until Chloe drifted her gaze to Beca's lips, "So are you." She whispered.

A bright red blush spread across Beca's face, She swallowed hard, "I-I- I love you, Chloe Beale." Chloe's jaw dropped and her eyes melted into tears. Beca's eyes widened, "I-I mean, I'm sorry. I'm an idiot, shit. I'm so sorry." Beca's heart went into overdrive. She could feel it in her ever dry throat.

Chloe laughed lightly and Beca shut up. Chloe wiped the tears from her face and swallowed, "No, no, no. You're perfect." She looked back into Beca's eyes, "I love you too."

* * *

 _Present Day -_

Beca sat in the room at the end of the hall with her computer on her lap and headphones around her neck. Her injury from the day before throbbed and she was still getting through what felt like the worst hangover of her life. Still, it didn't stop her from working. She sat quietly, working on the same piece she'd been working on since she had arrived. Across from her, Chloe was asleep in the chair she hadn't moved from for hours. Aubrey had been in to check on her, but Beca insisted on letting Chloe sleep. Aubrey brought Beca coffee and told her that they needed to talk later.

Chloe didn't wake up for another hour after Aubrey checked in. When she did, her eyes fluttered open and she gazed around the room. Realizing where she was, her shoulders tensed and she sat up in the chair. Beca took note of Chloe's movement and she looked up from her computer. Chloe stared into Beca's eyes after wiping the sleep from her eyes. "Hi," Beca piped up just louder than a whisper.

Chloe shook her head, trying to wake up. She couldn't have gotten more than two hours of sleep. "Hi," Chloe's voice was still cold.

Beca nodded and went back to her work.

"How is your head?"

Beca shut her laptop and gave Chloe her full attention. "It's just a headache. Nothing I can't handle."

Chloe got closer and moved Beca's hair away from the bridge. Beca winced at their sudden closeness. "Beca, you passed out, I don't think that means you're handling things." Chloe was harsh, but Beca did not move away.

"I have insomnia. It's not a big deal." Beca noted.

Chloe sighed, "It isn't until you pass out somewhere dangerous."

Beca didn't respond.

"You need to ice this and rest." Chloe explained, "And take something for the pain. Do you have something for the insomnia?"

Beca nodded and Chloe took her hand away. Beca looked up and their eyes met. Beca's grip tightened on the blankets. Chloe threw her hands to her side. "Is that all?" Beca asked.

Chloe nodded and stood. They exchanged another look and Chloe cleared her throat. "What else would there be?" She was harsh and sarcastic and then she left.

* * *

 _Four Years Prior -_

"Babe? are you home? Chloe?" Beca rushed into the apartment and ran around looking for her girlfriend.

Chloe drifted out from their bedroom with recently straighten and dyed hair, still in scrubs from work that day, "Hey gorgeous."

Beca dropped her bag and gave Chloe a peck on the lips, "Babe listen - um, sit down." Chloe picked up on Beca's eccentric tone of voice and sat down next to her on the couch. Beca started talking fast and in fragments, "So you know how I told you about my boss started letting me take lead and everything?" Chloe nodded as Beca spoke to reassure her. "Well he called me into his office today and I could've sworn he was firing me 'cause that's what he does when he fires people, he like calls them into his office but yells at them loud enough for everyone to hear, but he kind of doesn't even know my name so I wasn't that worried about that part and well -" Beca rambled.

"Becs?" Chloe narrowed her eyes, incredibly confused.

"Sorry, right, not important. So he calls me into his office and he tells me that he wants to transfer me to LA to work as a legitimate music producer at a friends studio!" Beca couldn't help but laugh in her excitement

"Oh my god Beca, that's amazing - I'm so proud of you!" Chloe hugged Beca tight, but Beca pushed away.

"Wait are you sure? I mean - I haven't really asked but I wanted to ask you, I mean, are you going to come with me? I know you haven't been working at the hospital long but do you think maybe you could, um, come with me?" Beca swallowed after speaking so fast. "I mean you can work at any hospital in the country right? They need doctors like everywhere."

Chloe laughed and Beca's flustered appearance and smiled brightly, "Of course, Beca. We're in this together. I love you."

"Oh my god, thank you, thank you, thank you." Beca hugged Chloe tight and kissed her face repeatedly. "I love you so much."

* * *

 _Present Day -_

The early morning quickly paved over to a cloudless, eighty degree day which caused Santa Monica beach to flood with both tourists and locals. Screams from young children erupted from the ocean, while sunbathing parents swamped the hot sand. A light wind blew in from the shore around high tide, which place a light inch of water over the stretch of pier. The smell of saltwater lingered in the air of the nearby city so strongly that visitors could almost taste it. The humidity sunk into their skin and left the day not only hot, but sweaty.

The bunch of girls swept the Santa Monica Pier, well on their way to the boardwalk. Each of them had some type of snack or candy in their hand, briskly walking in the first sunny day they had all week. Aubrey led the group to their destination with Stacy and the others following behind. Chloe walked in the back, practically sulking, and dragging her feet. This did not go unnoticed by the others, who exchanged multiple looks of confusion.

"Chloe, why don't you just go back?" Emily finally asked, being honest about Chloe's lost puppy posture.

Chloe pulled her eyes from the gravel and stared up at Emily. Emily's eyebrows were sympathetically curved. Her hair curled over her shoulders and around her face, she slouched in the presence of so many shorter people. Chloe stopped in her tracks and everyone turned to look at her. Her eyes pierced blue, brightening with the ocean background. She gulped and stuffed her hands in her pockets. "What do you mean?" Her voice was hoarse. Her hair was a disaster thrown in a bun, hardly holding together loose strands from what used to be her bangs.

"She means - why aren't you with Beca?" Stacy reworded the phrase bluntly, her eyebrows raised and her arms folded over one another. Emily exchanged a knowing look with Stacy. Stacy seamlessly stepped up to stand next to Emily.

Chloe scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You know why." She noted, gruffly. Her eyes drifted back down to her feet and the girls gathered closely around her.

"I don't." Aubrey joined the line of her friends by raising an eyebrow. Her lips drew a straight line and she adjusted her posture to stand taller. The group looked at Aubrey and then back to Chloe.

Chloe tightened her shoulders together against the attack, "She's not my girlfriend."

Aubrey shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, almost laughing. "And who's fault is that Chlo?"

All eyes gazed at Aubrey's strong lead, surprised by the words that came out of her mouth. Chloe furrowed the thick of her eyebrows and dropped her jaw, "What the hells that supposed to mean? You know what happened."

Aubrey nodded, "I know that three years ago, she left and three years ago, I got that. But now? Now why aren't you together? Who is the one running away now?" Posen's voice was loud, obnoxious, and frankly making a scene for those who passed by.

Chloe wrapped her arms around herself and fluttered her eyes. She licked her lips and took a deep breath. She was on the break of tears, "I don't know how I could ever trust her after what she did to me." Chloe didn't look at anyone, but shifted her position from one foot to the next.

Aubrey nodded and put an arm on Chloe's shoulder, "How will could ever know if you don't try?"


	11. Chapter 11 - We Need to Talk

**Hey all! It's been too long! Thanks for waiting it out. Love all the reviews! Please keep them coming! I love receiving them and looking at who's reading. Thanks so much! This chapter took a while because it was so monumental. If you like it feel free to comment or give it a follow! follow me on tumblr at ezrajclarke.**

* * *

 _We Need to Talk_

 _Present Day -_

The front door of the lodge opened with a creak and shut just as quickly. Chloe had to pull the handle up to fit it back into its frame. The sound of it shutting echoed through the emptiness. Chloe slammed her back into the door as it shut and gazed around at the dark lobby before her. From the ground floor, living room, a flickering light dimly lit the floor beneath her as a path that led inward. Chloe took a deep breath before making her way into the next room. Her hands began to shake and her palms grew clammy.

The fire light burned bright in the living room as Beca sat on the leather couch, reading a book with a title Chloe couldn't quite make out. Before entering, Chloe leaned on the edge of the door frame, watching her ex fiancee, "You shouldn't be reading with a concussion," Beca only noticed her when she spoke up, "and you really shouldn't be reading in this light." Chloe's voice was soft spoken in careful attention to what she expected to be Beca's headache.

Beca swallowed and sat up, folding her book and placing it on the coffee table. As she did, the blanket wrapped around her waist slipped down and clung to her knees. Her hair was tied loosely into a bun and her outfit had not changed form a pair of sweats and a beat up Ramones tee shirt, "What're you doing back so early?" Beca tried to keep an ambiguous look, her lips staying uncurled.

Chloe looked at the mahogany floor, nearly black without light. Through the flames her hair was more ginger than it had been in years. Their pale skin reflected white, "Knowing you, I suppose." The redhead stumbled her way to the couch and gestured to the opposite corner, "May I?"

Beca nodded and Chloe slouched into its folds. Beca didn't speak at first. Chloe looked over and their eyes met. Beca quickly looked down to her fidgeting hands, "Earlier, in my room, I should've thanked you for being there for me." Beca cleared her throat. "I know I don't deserve it."

Chloe licked her lips and took a moment to think, "You know, when you left -" Chloe paused and Beca repositioned, noticeably uncomfortable. Chloe took a deep breath in, "I didn't know how to handle it, I, um." She glanced at Beca, who held her head in shame, "The only way I could handle it, was by hating you and resenting everything you did. I wanted to hate you and at the same time protect myself from ever feeling that way again. I thought that hating you would help me get on with my life and at the time I guess it did, but when I saw you again.. All that I could think about is everything I wanted to say to you three years ago." Beca's eyebrows furrowed in apology. "I think what I'm trying to say, is that I shouldn't have blown up on you the other night."

Beca nodded and pushed herself to a reasonable distance from her ex, "I don't think you have anything to apologize for. I was the one who did this in the first place and, I think I deserve it. And I know this can't make up for anything, but I'm so sorry, Chloe. I never wanted to hurt you the way I did."

The girls instantly faded back to silence. Chloe stared at the glowing fire and Beca stared at Chloe. "Beca, why did you leave?"

* * *

 _Two Years Prior -_

The room was brightening slowly with the rising sun. A bleak Seattle sun peaked through the clouds of the early morning and pierced through the glass walls of Beca's penthouse. The hour was young for even Beca to be awake on a Saturday morning. Her room was a disaster area of blankets and clothes thrown off each side. Two empty bottles of rum sat on each night stand, with a shot glass next to each one. A constant vibration shook Beca awake and continued to irritated her already pounding headache.

Beca pushed herself to raise her head and peer around her impersonal room. As she did, she found a naked _somebody_ on one side and a work phone on the other. Beca closed her eyes and sighed at the sight of _whoever the hell_ was next to her. She rolled her eyes and hastily got out of bed, trying her best not to wake the sleeping _noname_ next to her. As she did, she slipped on a pair of shorts from the floor and ripped her work phone from the night stand. She then exited the room to the balcony, where she proceeded to answer the call.

"What's up?" She groaned, rubbing her forehead with her other hand.

"Beca?" Jesse asked. "Why do you sound like you just got hit by a bus?"

Beca rolled her eyes and watched the city below come to life, "It was, uh, rough night."

Jesse sighed, "Oh, right, Yesterday was your anniversary wasn't it."

Beca licked her lips and rolled her eyes, "What did you want, Swanson?"

"I was going to tell you about this band I really want to sign, but it can wait till you get a cup of coffee." Jesse laughed.

Beca turned around and watched the stranger getting dressed in her room, "Yeah, I think that's a good idea."

* * *

 _Present Day -_

"I can't tell you how many times I've thought about that question." Beca answered, her legs curling up to her chest, "I hate it, but I don't know. I was an dumb, or scared, and the biggest fucking idiot, but I -" She rubbed the tired from her eyes and then looked into Chloe's, "I want to tell you that it was because I didn't want what happened to my parents to happen to us and I know the day I left that's what I believed, but every single day since I've regretted it." Chloe didn't have a response and Beca could see that her answer did not cure what Chloe had longed for. "Chloe, I want you to tell me everything you've wanted to for the past three years. I want you to get mad at me and scream at me. I deserve it."

* * *

 _Two Years Prior -_

The restaurant was dimly lit with oil lanterns, which hung from the wood cross beams on the ceiling. The light shadowed on the carpeted floors and lit the faces of guests in a similar way that a campfire would. The tiny, city diner was filled to the max with customers, but it was somehow still quiet from booth to booth. Servers rushed back and forth from kitchen to table with plates covering their arms on both journeys. In all the rush, Aubrey, Chloe, Stacie and Tom tucked themselves in a corner booth at the back of the restaurant; They were just inches away from the kitchen doors which flew open as if they were revolving.

They had been out for just under an hour and were waiting on a dinner order they'd put in thirty minutes ago. The discussion circulated mostly around Aubrey and Stacie, who tried to continuously include the other two. Aubrey tried to ask questions which included both, but Chloe rarely answered. Instead, she slouched her shoulders and stared at the sugar packets on the center of the table. Her eyes fixated and her eyebrows curved downward. She hadn't smiled all night, other than to greet Tom and give him a hug for old times sake. Her words were little and few and answering questions directly, though muttered. She was more beautiful than anyone in the crowd. Her hair was straightened and recently dyed. She wore a black slim dress, which brought highlighted her bright hair. Still, her eyes weakly stayed open and the dark circles under them hadn't left for days.

"Chloe actually thought about being a vet after college, didn't you Chlo?" Aubrey smiled brightly at the redhead, who had practically become a zombie as the day ended and the moon rose. "Chlo?" Aubrey shook on Chloe's hand on the table and Chloe abruptly stared back.

"What?" Chloe asked, swallowing when she noticed the three pairs of eyes staring back.

"You wanted to be a vet, right?" Aubrey restated, raising an eyebrow at her best friend.

Chloe shook her head and she rubbed her temples, "I can't do this" She mumbled.

"What?" Tom asked, unable to hear his date for the evening.

Chloe shook her head and pulled away when Tom put his arm on her shoulder. Chloe immediately got up from booth and stared at her best friend. She mouthed the words 'I'm sorry' before running to the door. Tears struck the bottom of her eyelids and she burst out of the diner for a breath of fresh air. When she got out to the streets, she leaned against a brick wall and forced herself to take a breath. Aubrey quickly followed behind her.

"Chlo? Are you okay?" The blonde asked, putting a hand on Chloe's back.

Chloe caught her breath and then looked up. "I'm sorry," her voice crumbled with guilt. "I know I should be over her and I know it's been so long but it's our anniversary today and -" Chloe tried to breath, but found herself dry heaving before she could finish.

Aubrey rubbed the redheads back and reassured her, "It's okay. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have forced you to come out tonight. I thought it would be better to get your mind off things and that you had fun with Tom in college so.." Aubrey trailed of and Chloe wiped the tears off her face. "You know what, lets just get you home Chlo, it's okay."

* * *

 _Present Day -_

"Last year, I would've taken you up on that offer. I would've screamed at you until my voice was gone." Chloe admitted, twiddling her thumbs and staring into the fire.

Beca gulped, staring at the coffee table nearby. "So, what's changed?"

Chloe looked up and turned her shoulders inward to face Beca, "Seeing you, being here this week, it reminded me that I didn't just lose us when you left, but I lost my best friend. And I missed that so much. I had already forgotten what it was like to be friends with Beca Mitchell and as much as every bone in my body hurt to think about forgiving you, I missed being your friend more. It'll take more and I'm sure we both know that, but I want to be your friend Beca."

Beca couldn't help but feet her lips curl upward as her cheeks formed dimples. "I would really like that."


	12. Chapter 12 - When Beca Left

**Hello! Hope everyone is doing well. Sorry this took so long! It's been an interesting few weeks with school and a small apartment fire. Nobody was harmed luckily! Anyway, I think this chapter turned out pretty well, but as always let me know what you think! This one kind of backtracks, but I hope you guys like it. Thank you for being so patient with me. As always leave comments, reviews, etc. And you can contact me on tumblr if you would like at ezrajclarke**

* * *

 _When Beca Left._

 _Three and a Half Years Prior -_

Beca hadn't stopped driving for hours. Her windshield was foggy and drizzled with rain. Warm air leaked through the ventilation system, which formed goosebumps on the surface of her forearms. The horizon formed at the edges of the earth and started to spill with sunshine. The radio whispered an early morning talk show which only came on between late and early music stations. Their voices were so low that Beca could not understand what they were saying, but instead used it as background noise mumbling in her ear.

Her eyes were black with the remnants of makeup and newly formed bags. Her face was a wet, rose red. Her lips were a chapped, dried, and cracking light pink. A horrid morning breath lingered in her mouth. Her eyelids could no longer open wider than halfway. Her feet stumbled between the gas and brake for miles when her head began to pound. She finally pulled off to the side of the road when another round of tears clouded her line of sight.

She turned off the radio listened to the methodic clicking of emergency lights. After putting the car in park, she slammed her forehead into the top of her steering wheel. It fell heavy enough to sound a rather audibly bang. Tears streamlined down her already moist cheeks. Her lungs expanded repeatedly to compensate for lack of air. She huffed and blinked the water down her face. Her bones swelled and ached. She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her ankles on the bottom of her wheel. She bent her head into her arms and felt her throat go numb.

* * *

 _Four hours later -_

Beca paced the hallway of an apartment complex. Her hair was practically a lion's mane. Her eyes were crimson with blood vessels. Her hands were shaking when she put one up to knock on the door. Then she hesitated and began pacing again. She took a deep breath and rolled her eyes. She paced in front of the door and this time she forced herself to knock. She knocked once, twice, and the third time she knocked extensively louder. Finally, the door opened.

"Beca?" Emily's voice was raspy and she could hardly keep her eyes open. She was wearing a rather large tee shirt and fuzzy pajamas, "Are you okay?"

Beca pushed her way through the door and paced into Emily's living room, "I don't know where else to go, Em. I fucked up, okay?" Beca began to rant in fragmented sentences to explain what had happened.

"Beca, slow down, what're you talking about?" Emily shut the door behind her and followed the brunette, much slower, "Just tell me what happened."

Beca closed her mouth and stared at Emily. She gulped and opened her mouth to speak again. All of a sudden the words were gone, "Chloe and I…"

"Babe, what is going -" Before Beca could continue, Benji emerged from the bedroom in only a Starwars shirt and boxers, "Beca?" He rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Fuck. I'm sorry. I shouldn't be here right now." Beca pulled her hands threw her hair as if she was going to pull it out. "I have to go."

Beca immediately tried to push past Emily, but Emily held her back. "Beca, talk to me."

"No, I can't do this. I just - fuck" Without another word Beca shoved her way passed Emily and ran back out the way she came in.

Emily chased the brunette down the hall as fast as she could, "Beca, stop! Where the hell are you going?"

Beca stumbled her way to the stairwell, but caught her jacket on the railing. "I just - I can't," She dropped her hands to the floor and ripped her arms from the sleeves of the still stuck jacket. When she did, she rested her hands on her knees and tried to take deep breaths, "I can't breath." Before Emily could ask Beca ran out to her car and drove off. Emily chased her as far as she could, but Beca had no intentions of sticking around.

* * *

 _Two Days Later -_

Jesse watched his best friend, with eyes he'd never seen her through before. On an uncomfortable hotel couch, Beca curled her body into a blanket. Her face was covered in make up that hadn't been removed for days. Her skin was red and blotchy with scratches and rashes. Her eyes looked as if they had been pinned open to keep her from falling asleep. She hadn't changed her clothes in two days. She had hardly moved from the couch since she had arrived.

"I brought you all the mixes you were working on like you asked." He perked his ears and eyes, in the hopes that Beca would recognize his arrival.

"Thanks." Beca mumbled under the bundle of blankets, thoroughly enthralled in some show on cable television.

Jesse looked at her and then to the TV screen. He then turned his attention to the room around them. The floor was filled with take out bags and empty containers. The bed hardly had the sheets still on it. The coffee machine had been used nonstop, but the bathroom was in pristine condition, "Beca how long has it been since you slept?" He finally asked, turning his wide eyes to the lump on the couch, "or took a shower, for that matter?"

Beca pulled the blankets closer to her chest, "I don't know, do I ever have to again?" She still did not look at him.

Jesse shook his head, this time slightly irritated. Quickly, he shut down the television and started cleaning up the mess on the floor, "hey! I was watching that!" Beca finally noticed him.

Jesse threw all of the bags into the small trash cans placed about the room, "I don't care. It's time for you to get the fuck up. What're you just going to sit up in this hotel room forever? You're Beca Freaking Mitchell, multimillion dollar music producer. I'm not just going to sit here and watch you ruin your life-"

Beca hung her legs off the couch and stretched. Her arms and legs danced with goosebumps and she hurried herself back under the blanket, "No, Jesse. I'm Beca fucking idiot, the biggest jerk on the planet okay? You don't understand and you never will. And for any matter why the hell do you care? I'm moving to Seattle in less than a week! Is that not doing enough for you?" Her words were sharp, crisp, and pointed.

Jesse rolled his eyes and grabbed his things, placing the work he brought for her on the night stand. "You know what Beca, you are the biggest jerk on the planet, but do what you want. Just remember that leaving Chloe behind isn't just about her. You have a lot more people that fucking care." In a haste, he left and Beca rubbed the sore spots from her migraine.

* * *

 _Three days later -_

Beca wrapped a towel around herself as she exited the steam filled shower. She scrunched her hair with another dry towel and looked herself in the mirror. Her skin was still breaking out with hives here and there, but she was clean. She walked over to the hotel counter and stared at the jewelry placed on its top. She gazed over her multitude of necklaces and earrings and placed them on her body one by one. Then she stared at the last remaining piece, her engagement ring.

She could hardly stare at it, without tears welling in her eyes. She stared at her hand lifelessly. Her hands shook when she picked up the expensive detail. She stared at the well sized diamond as it reflected the bright lights on top of the mirror. She closed her eyes and swallowed the lump in the back of her throat. She placed the ring back on her left hand and sighed. _One day at a time._

She then exited the bathroom and changed into a new outfit she had bought earlier in the day. As she put on each item, she took off the tags and placed them in the trash. She wore jeans and a hooded tee shirt, which allowed for some comfort in her motion. After she had dressed, a knock came to the door. Beca put on deodorant and yelled through the inch thick piece of word "Not now, Swanson, I'm busy." The knock came again, this time louder. Beca rolled her lake eyes and walked to the doorway. She opened the door a slight crack, but was immediately met with a hard shove in her abdomen.

Aubrey barged into the room and cornered Beca on the recently made bed, "Beca Fucking Mitchell what the hell do you think you're doing? If you want me rethink killing you right now then you better choose your words wisely." Aubrey's knees smacked against Beca's as Beca fell onto the rather large comforter. Beca's eyes stared widely at the blonde above her, then caught Stacie behind her. Beca pleaded without sound to Stacie but Stacie rather folded her arms. "Don't fucking look at her."

"Aubrey I-"

"No, Beca. I can't even fucking listen to you. You better get your ass up and go the fuck home to fix this. I swear to fucking God, how the hell do you just leave without saying a goddamn-" Aubrey's eyes were filled with a hatred Beca had only first encountered her freshman year.

"Aubrey-"

"Do you even want to know how she is? She's fucking horrible, Beca. She sitting at home fucking crying, thanks to you. I knew this would happen, I knew you guys were having problems. I can't fucking believe you would break her heart like this-" Aubrey paced the small room and talked with her hands. Stacie leaned in the doorway and watched her girlfriend walk. Beca looked for sympathy, but could see that Stacie was just as enraged, but she kept it to herself.

"Aubrey, listen to me, It's more -" Beca sat up on the bed and she too watched Aubrey pace.

Aubrey's voice became gradually louder, "I just can't fucking believe that after everything that happened-"

"AUBREY." Beca screamed and both of the other girls looked at her, almost frightened. They each cocked an eyebrow and Beca finally had their attention. The two of her friends looked her in the eye for the first time since they had arrived. Each of them saw tears that streamed down Beca's face. They noticed the hives and scratches that lined the skin on her arms. They saw the dark circles that encased her eyes from days without sleep. They finally noticed and Beca tried her best to keep her voice steady, "Aubrey, it's over. I-I wasn't good enough and I lost her. I-It's over." Beca's tone reduced to a hardly audible whisper.

Aubrey and Stacie exchanged and look and they each dropped their shoulder. Their eyes fell soft and they each sat next to the brunette on the bed. Stacie put her arm around the small girl and Beca couldn't help but hyperventilate. Once again, tears streamed down her face and left an unsettling kind of sticky. "Beca, I'm so sorry." Stacie mumbled into the brunette forehead as they hugged.

Beca pinned her head up to look at Aubrey and wiped the tears from her eyes "Aubrey, I'm so sorry. I should've been good enough. I-I wanted to be."

Aubrey put another hand on Beca's back and shook her head, "Don't ever be sorry and don't ever feel like that." Beca could tell Aubrey was at a loss for words. "We're sorry."

Beca wiped away the remaining tears and leaned on her knees, "um, now that you're here. I know this is bad timing but I need to tell you guys something."

"What is it?" Stacie asked, her eyes still curved in sympathy to her old friend.

"I'm moving, to Seattle, next week."

* * *

 _Four Days Later -_

Beca opened the door for the third time that week to an unannounced guest. That was when she began to resent not telling concierge to keep her name off the call listing. This time it was Amy. She was not mad, or upset, it was just Amy standing at her door with wide eyes and her typical grin. Beca found her presence comforting and she actually found a way to smile when they locked eyes.

"Damn, does everyone just know where my hotel is now?" Beca joked and Amy invited herself in.

"Everyone except Chloe." She remarked and Beca's heart stopped. Amy walked around the hotel and knocked things off the entertainment center purposefully as she walked.

"Are you here to yell at me too?" Beca asked, unmoved by Amy's abrupt nature.

Amy walked back over to Beca and hugged her tight. Beca's arms locked under Amy's hug. She was off guard and obviously uncomfortable. "No," Amy replied, "I'm here to tell you that I'm sorry. And that I want you to make the best of this. I hate to see you go to Seattle, but I want you to do what's best for you. Just remember that we will always be here for you."

Beca relaxed into the hug and the corners of her mouth smiled. They fell silent for a moment before Beca spoke up again, "Do you think she'll always hate me?"

Amy let Beca go and stared at her with a reassuring, sympathetic smile. "Beca. I don't think Chloe could hate you even if she wanted to with everything she had in her. And I think for now at least, you're doing what's best for both of you."


	13. Chapter 13 - Just Friends

**Hello Friends! I know this chapter is much shorter then what others I have posted, but I figured I hadn't posted in a while so I thought you guys deserved two updates - and I also figured that you might need something a little happier. Thanks so much for all the reviews I already received on the previous chapter, sorry I broke so many hearts! In a good way that is! Any who, this chapter is a little hint at what is to come. Can Beca and Chloe stay friends? Can they even be friends to start with? Lemme know as always what you think and get in touch through tumblr at ezrajclarke. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Just Friends_

 _Present Day -_

Aubrey sat in the corner of the room full of girls she had known for years as they talked and carried on eating breakfast. The group was loosely gathered around Beca and Chloe, who each had fallen asleep on opposing sides of couch the night before and had to be woken up by the other girls. Suddenly that morning, Beca and Chloe were talking, making jokes, and almost pretending like nothing had ever happened. Aubrey pondered the fear gutting her from the inside out.

Beca was telling a college story to Emily from before she joined the Bella's. Emily was listening contently, but Aubrey's eyes were fixated on her redheaded best friend. Chloe's eyes were watching Beca's eyes and her lips formed an ice shattering smile. Aubrey thought about how long it had been since she had seen that smile. Chloe nodded along to Beca's story and turned her shoulders to the brunette. Her lips curled into a wider grin and her eyes glimmered in the morning light from the windows. Beca motioned towards her when talking about her part in the story and Chloe nodded excitedly. When Beca turned away, Chloe unknowingly bit her lip and let it go. She placed a hand under head to keep it in place and cuddled into the blanket her and Beca shared.

 _Just friends don't look at each other like that._

Aubrey reminded herself of the last time she had seen them together like that, but she also thought about how they destroyed one another. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes when she let it out. She shook her head as her fiancée sneaked over to sit with her. Stacie looked at Aubrey's eyes and took note that she was staring at Chloe. "So, are you ready to do this?"

Aubrey licked her lips and averted her gaze to give all of her attention to her girlfriend, "Remind me that this is the right thing to do."

Stacie put an arm around Aubrey's shoulder and nodded, "Brey, Beca and Chloe - they belong together. And I think it's our obligation to give them their best chance."

Aubrey nodded and took another deep breath, this time relaxing her shoulders, "and you don't think we can make it worse? I don't know what I would do if I had to watch either of them go through that kind of heartbreak all over again and-"

Stacie put a hand on Aubrey's face and redirected it to Beca and Chloe who were still deep in conversation with Legacy, "Look at them and tell me they aren't already at rock bottom. They're trying to make amends now but the way they look at each other? They're in hell."

Aubrey grabbed onto Stacie's hand and kissed it. She then unsurely nodded in agreement, "You're right, let's do this."

 **Mission B.L.H.O.E is a go.**

Phones around the room vibrated.

 **Just remember - it's still their choice. We can't force them.**

Aubrey put her phone away and watched the girls check their phones one at a time. Emily looked nonchalantly around the room and gave a knowing smile to Aubrey. She licked her lips and looked back to Beca, "How is your head?"

Beca's fingers loosely traced the newly formed welt, which had turned black and blue overnight, "It's really nothing. I'm sure it looks worse than it is." Beca looked down at the breakfast plate in front of her and quickly dove for a piece of bacon. She smiled when she bit down.

Chloe rolled her eyes, "A concussion isn't nothing." She mumbled, so low most of the group could not hear her. Stacie and Aubrey exchanged a look of confusion. Their eyes narrowed.

"You think it's a concussion?" Stacie repeated, this time loud enough for the rest of the group to catch it.

Chloe raised her eyebrows and bit her lip, taken back by the fact that someone heard her, "I don't think it is, I know it is." She then went back to engulfing food in front of her.

"It is not. It's just a bump. I'm really fine." Beca tried to reassure the other girls and gave Chloe the side eye.

Chloe responded with her own look of disdain, "Yes it is, Beca." Chloe turned to Beca and put a finger in front of the brunettes face, "Follow my finger with your eyes." Beca did as she was told, but instead of just her eyes she moved her head as well. "See how she moves her head too? That's a clear sign of a concussion." Stacie and Aubrey once again looked at one another. This time Stacie smiled and raised her eyebrows at the former couple laying on the couch.

The group nodded in understanding and Beca rolled her eyes, mumbling curses under her breath. Aubrey got up and left the room, only to return moments later. "In any case, I think we could all take our time to recuperate. I actually found a cool game to play if we got some downtime this week, you guys want to?" The majority immediately perked up.

"Okay, well everyone needs a partner so -" Aubrey started to talk and everyone quickly left Beca and Chloe without partners. Aubrey watched girls scrambled and forgot to finish her sentence. She watched Beca and Chloe laugh and exchange a look, "Chloe we can switch - if you want?"

Beca and Chloe looked at one another, smiled briefly, and looked back at Aubrey, "No, it's okay, we're friends."

Emily could help but smile and the girls looked back to Aubrey for instruction, "Okay. So basically the game works like this. We're gonna go around the room and you basically ask each other questions to see how much they know about their partner. Every question right gets a point." The girls nodded and Aubrey pulled out some notecards. "Okay I guess we'll start," She turned to face Stacie and smiled, "Babe," She laughed and everyone laughed with her, "What's my favorite book?"

Stacie rolled her eyes and laughed, "Easy, The Outsiders."

Aubrey cocked an eyebrow, "I really didn't think you'd know that."

Stacie straightened her shoulders, perkily, "I really like listening to you." Stacie took the pile from her fiancee and flipped to a new card, "What's my most important possession?" Her lips pursed.

Aubrey's gaze moved from her eyes to her chest and pointed, "Your necklace, it was a gift from your dad before he passed."

Stacie toggled with the gold heart that hung off her neck, which she had worn everyday, but mostly under her shirt, "but you know, my ring comes a close second." She smiled with her eyes.

The pile passed on to Beca who read the next question to herself and laughed. Chloe cocked and eyebrow and Beca read it outloud, "Am I a night or morning person?" The room burst with laughter.

Chloe made a thinking face, "Hm. What a hard one. On a whim I want to go with night." The room still laughed and Beca nodded a yes. Beca handed the pack to Chloe and Chloe looked them over.

The room went silent as Chloe read the question. Her lips turned straight and she gulped. She briefly looked up at Beca, who gave her a reassuring smile, "um, what three things always make me smile?"

Everyone looked at Beca quietly. She looked around on the floor and folded her legs under her. She licked her lips and nervously laughed, "alright, um," She swallowed and pretended to wipe something off her mouth as she thought. The girls around them exchanged worried looks, "Flowers," She coughed, "Multicolored tulips," She cleared her throat and was silent again, "Watching thunderstorms at night," She stumbled through her last sentence, "and scented candles around a room." Beca tried not to think about why those three things were what she chose to say and Chloe tried not to think further into them.

Chloe nodded and nobody spoke. Beca and Chloe each looked up at one another and their eyes locked. Chloe bit the bottom of her lip and Beca swallowed the lump in her throat. Beca coughed and Chloe realized everyone else was staring as well. Chloe looked around the room with an awkward smile, "Um, who's next?"


	14. Chapter 14 - One and Only

**Hello! Another quick Chapter because I was eager to get to this part! I hope you guys like it! On a side note - this story is getting to a crux and it's almost on the downhill side. I was wondering what I should do next? Maybe opening things up for prompt ideas? Ones shots? Tell me what you think! Or would you rather me try to keep this one going? Never sure what I will do and I will make up my mind after I hear from you. But let me know! and Let me know what you think! Thanks so much for reading and for everyone who has left me reviews and comments so far. Please feel free to follow me as a writer on tumblr or here to see what I end up doing. As always reviews inspire me to keep writing. Follow me at ezrajclarke. and enjoy!**

* * *

 _One and Only_

 _Present Day -_

The chestnut hardwood became a swollen charcoal at night. The sound of Chloe's barefeet clacked against it, making the only human sound left in the lodge. The doors going down the hallway were all closed and the wind bellowed from the windows through the tunnel. The full moon left a blue haze on the white walls. The lodge creaked during the night and revealed how old it really was. Trees whistled in the wind nearby, dropping the seventy five degree weather down to the sixties. Once again, an inch thick door separated the girls, but this time Chloe was on the outside of it.

Under the crack of the door, Chloe could see the light of a computer screen leaking out. Chloe took a deep breath and then went to turn the door knob. She placed her hand on the cold metal, but hesitated and took it away. She shook her head and folded her hand into a fist. Instead of walking in, she lightly knocked. A small mumbled voice came from the inside, "Yeah?" Chloe gulped and turned the knob. She scrambled to walk in and Beca looked up from her screen, "Hey," Beca's straight lips curled into a smile.

"I'm sorry, I just, I couldn't sleep." Chloe's hand fumbled between themselves, fidgeting uncomfortably, "Is this, okay?"

Beca sat up from bed, closed her laptop, and placed it on the nightstand nearby, "Chloe, it's okay. I don't mind."

Chloe scratched the back of her head and looked around for a place to sit. She then realized the chair that was once there was gone and the only spot left was on the bed, "Do you, want to take a walk?"

Beca frantically looked around and grabbed her phone, "uh, yeah, of course." She got up and looked around the room for anything else. Beca then opened the door for Chloe and Chloe led them down the hall.

"So, what's up?" Beca asked, grabbing a jean jacket on her way out the front door. This time Chloe grabbed the door for Beca, "thanks."

Chloe followed the brunette down the red brick driveway, "Honestly, I couldn't even tell you."

Beca wrapped herself in her jacket and let her tight shoulders rest, "Do you want to talk about it?" Beca didn't look at Chloe as they weaved their way down to a river path at the edge of the nearby woods. Instead she stuffed her hands in her pockets and watched the moon reflect on the water.

Chloe watched the brunette for a few moments before she remembered to answer the question. She then looked down at her feet, "I, uh," She mockingly laughed at herself, "This is going to sound bad, but, I can't stop thinking about leaving so soon. I, just mean, I never thought I'd even see you again and then I spent half of the time ignoring you and now -"

Chloe looked at Beca and Beca grinned, "I know exactly what you mean."

They looked at each other and for the first time in three years, Chloe saw Beca grin from ear to ear. A smile like that was not something Beca did earnestly. It was nothing like any other time she smiled out of courtesy. A smile like that was something that took up the majority of her face and made her look dorky. That was something she had unintentionally always saved for Chloe. Chloe half heartedly smile as they found themselves at a bridge over the river where it intersected with the wood path. When the moment felt tense, she decided to change the subject, "So what's it like to live in Seattle?"

* * *

 _Four Years Prior -_

Chloe watched Beca walked into the grocery store to pick up a few things for her mother to bake Christmas cookies. Behind her on the driver's side sat Beca's step sister, Aria. Beca's mom had gotten remarried during Beca's junior year of high school. Aria was only a few years younger than Beca, but they had a certain bond that Chloe could tell was almost like they were meant to be sisters. Both of the girls were loners with an knack for sarcasm. Aria was kinder to most people, but Chloe could tell that she actually looked up to Beca deep down, "So, um, you and Beca are together?" Aria asked and her eyebrows reflected the question. She had short, brown hair that only came down to her chin, but always found a way over her eyes.

Chloe nodded with a smile plastered on her face, "Is that weird?"

Aria looked to the door of the store as if she was waiting for her step sister to return. She twirled her thumbs in her lap and pressed her knee against Beca's seat, "No, it's just, um, Beca's never brought anyone home before."

"Really?" Chloe asked, her eyes teasing with suspicion, "You mean, like a girl?"

Aria scratched the back of her head, "No, I mean, well, anyone."

Chloe sat back in her seat and bit her lip, "Hmm."

Aria looked again for Beca and this time Beca came out with a bag in her hand, "but, I think you make her happy," The younger girl mumbled and Chloe stared at the back of her head, "Just um, do me a favor?" They locked eyes. "Don't break her heart."

* * *

 _Present Day -_

Beca and Chloe sat on the edge of a bridge, laughing in light of the moon. They sat inches apart with their eyes were unmoved from one another. Their fingers just barely touched. Their shoulders relaxed. Silence was unheard of. They moved from topic to topic about the last three years of their lives and almost nothing was left out. They talked and told each other as much as they could and they talked as if they had never stopped in the first place. Beca laughed and Chloe smiled. "I don't deserve you." Beca whispered. Their faces slipped closer and closer to one another until there was almost no space between them. Their eyes closed and they each leaned in.

* * *

 _Four Years Prior -_

Chloe walked in the recording studio and smiled at Jesse behind the desk, "Hey, is Becs still here?"

Jesse smirked and adjusted the color on his button up, "isn't she always?"

Chloe smiled and her lips curled into red dimples. She approached the counter top and leaned against it. She was still in her work scrubs and she was picking up Beca for a date night. Jesse buzzed Becas studio and gave Chloe a friendly nod that she would be right out. Chloe stared at him and her eyes narrowed, "Hey, you dated Beca.."

Jesse's eyebrows rose, "That's a weird way to start this conversation." He tried to keep is attention on the computer in front of him.

Chloe scratched the back of her head, "I just. I don't know, did you ever feel like she just- didn't trust you?"

Jesse shut his macbook and folded his arms over his desk, "All the time." He nodded, "but to be fair she didn't trust me which is part of why we broke up." His eyes drifted to to left of his vision as he remembered, "Why do you ask?" Jesse could hardly believe he was having this conversation with his ex girlfriend's current.

Chloe sighed, "I don't know, sometimes she just feels so shut off about everything and I'm worried she doesn't trust me either." Jesse rolled his eyes and Chloe scoffed, "What's that for?"

Jesse smiled with his teeth, "Chloe, you've got to be kidding me," Chloe gave him a look that told him she wasn't. "Beca trusts you more than she's ever trusted anyone - you just don't see it," Chloe raised an eyebrow and Jesse squared his shoulders. As he continued, he used his hands and seemed more vivid, "Okay look, maybe she doesn't explain everything to you but, she holds your hand in public, she hugs you when she's had a bad day, and the way she looks at you is something I've never seen her do with anyone else. Even me. And not once in the three years we dated did I ever meet her family. She took you home for Christmas after only a few months. Don't you see how much that means to her?"

Beca rounded the corner when she came out of the studio and the other two stared at her as she came out. Beca cocked an eyebrow, "Am I interrupting something?"

Chloe looked at Jesse and smiled, "No, Jesse was just reminding me of how lucky I am." Chloe approached her girlfriend and Beca smiled.

Beca wrapped her arms around Chloe's neck and smirked, "Are you sure?" Beca narrowed her eyes at her best friend. Jesse sat back down and tried to give them privacy.

Chloe closed her eyes and leaned in. Beca smiled at the redhead and closed her eyes. They each leaned in and the space closed between them. "I love you, Beca Mitchell."

* * *

 _Present Day -_

Their eyes closed and a familiar feeling set in the Beca's gut. Their lips brushed against one another and their was no turning back. Chloe pushed herself closer and Beca wrapped her arms around the her neck. Their thoughts obliterated. Chloe tasted like hot chocolate in the middle of winter and Beca could feel the addiction come over her. Chloe deepened the kiss and Beca reciprocated. Beca tasted like spearmint and a summer storm that Chloe could not stop watching. Her hands grazed Beca's hips and Beca couldn't help but jump. They slowly edged closer until their bodies were less than inch apart. When the kiss finally broke, Beca could feel her tears streaming down her cheeks. Their foreheads remained touching as if they couldn't bare to be apart. They were Both breathing heavily and shaking. Beca rested her fingertips on Chloe's face. _This was real_.


	15. Chapter 15 - The Morning After

**Hello Again! Only A few more chapters left and anything can happen! How do you want this to end? Let me know what you think and follow me on tumblr at ezrajclarke. Enjoy!**

 **Thanks!**

* * *

 _The Morning After_

Aubrey knocked lightly on the splintered wood of Chloe's door. The sound echoed in the hallway and she hoped she didn't wake up others. Nervously, she shifted her weight from one foot to another and her fingertips rested on her hip. The sun was hardly above nearby rooftops. The white walls were still shrewd in darkness, with the only light being the glow of the blonde's hair. Without the sun the hallway was ten degrees colder, especially after just leaving the warmth of her own bed and fiancee.

Aubrey crinkled her toes on the cold of the hardwood. She knocked on the door again, but this time followed it up with a whisper, "Chloe?" When she was not given a response, Aubrey quietly turned the doorknob and let herself in. When door hissed loudly, Aubrey crept in the crack to stop the noise. Once passed the barrier, Aubrey looked to Chloe's bed and realized that the young redhead was gone. Aubrey bent her eyebrows and bit her lip in her best attempt of a thinking face. Soon thereafter her eyes narrowed and she exited the room. For a minute, she stared at the door at the end of the hall which led to Beca's room.

Bound by curiosity, she then made a quick advance to the other end of the hall on her tiptoes. When she arrived, she abruptly stopped her strut and took a deep breath. She placed her hand on the doorknob and squeezed it as softly as she could. She pushed the door open a crack and peered in the room. There, she found Beca and Chloe cuddling on the queen bed in the clothes they had worn the night before. Aubrey couldn't help but smile from ear to ear at the sight. The girls were facing one another and their foreheads were touching. Aubrey went to close the door, but did a double take when she heard a sound. She cocked and eyebrow at the two girls who hadn't appeared to move. Then she heard the noise again and realized that it was Beca, snoring ever so slightly in her sleep. As Aubrey turned to leave, she wondered how long it had been since Beca had gotten such a deep sleep.

Hours later, Chloe stirred. Her eyes blinked to wake up and then landed on the still sleeping brunette at her side. Her eyes glossed over and the corners of her lips curled instantly. For moments she stayed still and watched the girl sleep, unable to believe the situation at hand. Her eyes watered and she swiftly wiped her face dry. She shook her head and decided to make an attempt to escape. She first pulled her forehead from Beca's and then pushed up with the arm under her body. She bent it and leaned on her elbow, trying to make small movements to let Beca sleep. She then moved to her full hand and removed a part of the blanket from her side.

At that movement, Beca shifted positions and grabbed Chloe's side. Chloe's eyes grew wide as Beca pulled the redhead back down and brought the two closer together, seemingly in her sleep. Chloe bit her lip at the sudden closeness. Their faces were less than an inch apart and their legs were entangled. Chloe could feel her heartbeat out of her chest. Chills went down her tense shoulders. Her arms fell under Beca's grasp. She waited for Beca to become still again. Then, she slightly moved one of her arms to Beca's side and rested it on the smaller girl's hip. She swallowed and relaxed her shoulders. She then closed her eyes and tried to relax.

* * *

 _One Year Prior -_

There was a week that Beca didn't sleep at all. It was during a time she was on a deadline for a client and she wasn't nearly where she needed to be in editing. It was also the week Jesse started pestering her to see a doctor about sleep deprivation. During this time, Beca had been on a few real dates with Anna. Anna was a brunette with large brown eyes and an ear for music. She was a girl Beca hired to work the front desk and talk to clients when she didn't want to, but someone Beca had become fond of over the few months they spent together. This was mostly because Beca spent the majority of her time at the studio and Anna didn't mind staying late. She was basically Beca's only friend.

At the end of the week, less than two days before her deadline, Beca took a break from the editing. She was exhausted and frustrated, but couldn't sleep or work. Because of this, she ended up at a bar. She was there for less than three hours and had gotten so wasted she couldn't see straight. And she called Anna to take her home.

Anna was in one of Beca's large tee shirts when she woke up the next morning. She struggled to find underwear that she vaguely remembered being thrown across the room. She slipped out of the room as Beca slept heavily. Anna walked over to the counter of Beca's kitchen and pulled out a tall glass from the cabinet. She poured a large glass of water and pulled out a bottle of Advil. She placed them on the counter and began browsing the fridge. As she did, she received a phone call, "Hello?" She mumbled. The stranger on the other line scrambled a hello and asked how she was. Anna smiled and gazed into Beca's room, "Actually, I'm still at Beca's. Yeah, no. I'm really excited. I really think we might be getting somewhere. And she's sooooo good in bed." The other line mumbled in excitement and Anna walked the medication and water back into the bedroom.

Beca stirred slightly when Anna placed items on the night stand. Anna couldn't here her at first, but she watched as Beca hugged her pillow tight. Beca smiled and let out a long deep breath, "I love you, Chloe Beale." She whispered.

Anna's jaw dropped. Her eyes opened wide and scanned the room angrily. Her friend asked if she was still on the line, "Uh yeah, I'm gonna have to call you back."

* * *

 _Present Day -_

Beca and Chloe walked downstairs and everyone in the dining room suddenly stopped talking. They all looked up and stared for moments. Chloe and Beca looked at each other and Beca scratched the back of her head. Both of their faces were bright red. Stacy looked at them with eyes wide with anticipation. Aubrey cocked an eyebrow at Chloe and Chloe shrugged her shoulders. "So I was thinking since it's our last few days, you guys should decide what you want to do. I mean, nothing's worked out for my plans anyways." Aubrey went back to what she was doing and everyone immediately followed her lead as if time had just restarted itself.

Emily nodded as she very obviously enjoyed Aubrey's pancakes, "Yeah I don't know, I think we should go out again. The other night was so fun and maybe Beca and Chloe can come - if they feel up for it?" Emily looked at the couple with a suspicious, but pleading gaze.

Chloe smiled brightly, as she always had. "I think that's a great idea! But let's go to a bar. Beca's concussion wouldn't fair well in a club."

Beca followed Chloe to sit down to eat as she mumbled, "I don't have a concussion."

* * *

 _One Year Prior -_

Chloe was one of those girls who didn't pay for a single drink when she went out. She was a dangerous combination of ambitious and beautiful which drew all sorts of people her way. She didn't always go out and drink her night away, but when she did she made it big. That was something Beca had always been jealous of when they went out together - all the guys that hit on Chloe. And when they broke up, Chloe started using going out as a way to get back at Beca even if Beca didn't know about it.

That night in particular, Chloe was at a club until last call. She was dancing with at least three guys surrounding her at any given time and any of which would've been ecstatic to go home with her. She was in a tight black dress and her neckline was far below her neck. Her hair was curled and flowing. She had come to the club alone and quite obviously with a purpose.

Later, Chloe left with a man she had never known before midnight that night. She walked out of the club with him and he helped her into a cab. During that time, as they kissed, Chloe's phone rung off the hook. Chloe eventually broke the kiss to answer it, "helloooo?" Her voice was too high to be taken as sober.

"Chloe? Are you drunk? Where are you?" Aubrey's overbearing voice invoked an eyeroll from Chloe.

Chloe smiled as the boy kissed her neck, "I-I-I'm with, uh," Chloe pulled phone from her mouth and ripped him off her pulse point, "What's your name?"

The boy smiled and sneered from her hold on the back of his short hair, "Theo." He said and Chloe let him back to her neck.

"I'm w-w-with Theeooo" Chloe slurred her words.

"Chloe, what are doing? I know this a rough night for you but is this really how you want to handle this? It's been two years and you're getting drunk with some stranger?" Aubrey's voice was pleading to her best friend.

Chloe rolled her eyes, but let them close as the boy continued to kiss her. "This isn't about her, Brey. This is about me." Aubrey began to protest but Chloe hung up the phone just as they arrived at Theo's.

* * *

 _Present Day -_

Beca stared at herself in the mirror and took a deep breath. Her eyelids shaded with a thick black glitter of eyeshadow. Her lip were highlighted with a shining pink gloss. Eyeliner darkened the outline of her eyes, which made them look lighter. Her recently curled hair wrapped around her face and swept the back of her neck. It fell over her shoulders and into the deep neckline of her pantsuit. She rubbed left over eyeshadow away from the corners of her eyes and finished the wings. Her heart was already beating out of her chest.

The brunette left her room and walked down towards Amy's room to steal mascara. As she rushed down the hallway, she walked right into Chloe's shoulder. Both girls were startled as they backed up. Beca's eyes moved up and down the redhead. Her hair was straightened and flowing down her shoulders. Her ice eyes were enveloped by light pink eyeshadow and a dark undertone eyeliner. Her lips were dazzled with lip gloss and a light lip liner. A light blush was applied to her bony cheeks. She was wearing a revealing white v neck and short black skirt, "I'm sorry." The redhead giggled.

Beca put wrapped her hair behind her ears and smiled with her teeth, "No, um, I mean, it was my fault." Beca laughed too as she fiddled with her hands. Beca gestured to Chloe's outfit, "You look really pretty, I mean, gorgeous. Like really, gorgeous." Beca stumbled and she averted her eyes from the gorgeous girl.

Chloe smiled and stared at Beca, "You look beautiful, Becs." Beca could help but blush, which against her pale skin made her look sunburn. Neither of them could say how much they had missed the way this felt.

"Everyone about ready to go?"


	16. Chapter 16 - Finale

**Hello! Probably the last chapter? Not sure if I will be going beyond this chapter, but hope you guys like it. Feel free to leave reviews about what you want or really like. Follow me on tumblr at ezrajclarke or you can always send me a message. I am also looking to start a new multi chapter fic called Bad at Love for bechloe if you're interested in that it'll probably be in the next week or so. Anyway, Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Finale_

 _One, Two, Three._

Shots slammed on the table and Chloe couldn't remember the last time she had a cup of water.

 _Four, Five, Six._

"Do you want to Dance?" Beca couldn't remember the last time Chloe was so close that Beca could smell her perfume.

 _Seven, Eight, Nine._

The night had been long. The girls were out until three in the morning when everything was blurry.

 _Ten, Eleven.._

Chloe couldn't remember how they had gotten back to the lodge and she definitely didn't remember when Beca and her started kissing - but she loved it. Their lips touched and Chloe made quick work to deepen the kiss. Beca let her hands fall on Chloe's hips and Chloe ripped her nails into the buttons of Beca's suit. Beca's hands slipped on the rim of Chloe's skirt and Chloe hummed to continue. Beca then opened her eyes pulled away. Her hands grasped Chloe's shoulders and she swallowed. Their eyes locked.

"Chloe, are you sure about this? I mean, I don't want to take advantage -" Beca looked down and Chloe took Beca's hands in her own.

"Beca, I want you." Chloe whispered and both girls were suddenly sober. Beca bit her lip and Chloe leaned in. Their foreheads touched gently and their eyes fluttered in an attempt to stay open. Beca closed the gap between them and this time their kisses lasted. Beca's arms wrapped sweetly around Chloe's neck and Chloe left her hands on Beca's waist. Their kiss intensed and Beca's tongue brushed Chloe's bottom lip. Chloe parted her lips and Beca pushed forward. The couple fell onto Beca's bed and suddenly they were tangled in one another. They continued to kiss until Chloe wrapped her legs around Beca and pushed herself up to straddle the brunette.

They kissed longer and Chloe ripped her shirt off. Beca stared at Chloe's bra and bare skin. Her eyes were left in awe. She lifted her hands to Chloe's body, but Chloe roughly caught them and pinned Beca to the bed, "W-What Are you Doing?' Beca stuttered.

Chloe touched her lips to Beca's ear, "Beca Mitchell, you are everything I have ever wanted and you are far more than good enough for me. You are my everything." Chills ripped down Beca's spine and Chloe kissed her way down Beca's body.

The next morning, sunlight burst into the windows of the lodge and groans could be heard for miles. Beca woke up with Chloe's arm draped over her. Both of them were wearing almost nothing. Beca's lips shaped into a smile when she heard Chloe breathing behind her. Then her head started pounding and she swallowed hard. She swiftly moved away from Chloe and kissed the redhead on her forehead. Chloe stirred lightly then rolled over to sleep again. Beca quickly got dressed and ready for the day and left Chloe to sleep.

When the Brunette walked downstairs, Aubrey had already started a pot of coffee. It was almost ten, but that was very early considering the night they had. Aubrey sat at the table, drinking a cup and when Beca came down, she smiled. "You sure did have a great night.

Beca scratched the back of her head and pulled out two mugs from the cabinet, "It couldn't have been better." Her smile was earnest.

Beca smirked and continued with the cups of coffee, "Yeah, yeah, I'm sure you had your fun."

Aubrey smiled into her own mug, "Yeah, but I think it's a little different if you haven't in three years.."

"You don't know what I've - "

Aubrey shook her head, "They weren't Chloe." Beca closed her mouth. The brunette didn't want to admit it but Aubrey was right. Nobody was Chloe. When Beca was quiet, Aubrey continued. "That being said.. if you ever break my best friends heart again I will murder you."

The brunette dented her eyebrows and Aubrey could tell she hit a nerve. The blonde pushed herself out on her chair and stood up, leaving Beca alone. She took a deep breath when Aubrey left, then turned to another cabinet for a hangover cure - or the closest thing she could find to it. She picked up the pills and coffee and darted back to sleeping Chloe.

When she got through the door she found Chloe sitting up in bed, tears streaming down her face. Her hair was a ratsnest of knots from the long night. She had put on an old sweatshirt Beca had brought with her to the retreat as well as some sweatpants. Beca's eyes enlarged at the horrifying sight. Chloe started to hyperventilate when she saw the girl return. Beca sat everything on her nightstand and knelt beside her ex, "Chlo, what's wrong?"

Chloe stared into Beca's eyes and the brunette watched the white of Chloe's turn red. Chloe wiped the tears from her face and Beca held Chloe's hands. More tears rose to the surface, "I just, I can't do this." Before Beca could protest Chloe had already knocked her over to run out the door.

Beca pulled herself from the ground and darted to the door Chloe slammed on her way out. When she opened it, every Bella could been seen opening their own doors to see the drama, "Chloe?" Aubrey tried to grab Chloe's shoulder but Chloe pushed her away and ran out the door of the lodge. All of the sleepy eyes turned to Beca and she looked like a deer in headlights. Eyebrows rose in question and Beca's shoulders tensed.

"Well what're you waiting for?" Amy asked and her accent shown through more than it had all week, "Go get her."

Beca gulped and ran passed the Bella's who gave small remarks of good luck as she ran. Beca scurried out the door. Her eyes squinted briefly at the light of day before she continued. She desperately searched the brick road for Chloe and locked her eyes on the redhead when she did. Beca ran down the path they had walked the night before when she noticed that Chloe had gotten to the bottom of the hill. Her legs carried her with the momentum of the hill, quickly catching up to her crying ex. Chloe didn't stop until she got to the bridge where they had kissed and she ran out of breath. Beca was close behind, breathing heavier than she ever had in her life. "Chloe, please, stop"

"I just, I can't, Becs," She spoke between breaths. "I can't do this."

Beca pleaded, her hands on her knees, "What? What can't you do? Please, talk to me." She words were interspersed between deep heaves.

Chloe turned and her eyes began to water once again. The girls stayed stationed on opposing sides of the bridge, "I can't, Beca, I woke up this morning and I thought you were gone all over again and I just can't take that again. I don't think there will ever be a day that I'll wake up and not wonder if you left me all over again. I can't do this, Beca, we're just - we're too screwed up." Defeated, she lent herself to the railing of the bridge and fumbled a hand through her hair.

Beca walked forward and stared at the side of Chloe's face, "Then I never leave your side again. I never get up earlier than you, I stay with you and you wake up to me every morning."

Chloe shook her head and held it as it started to pound from her active night before, "No Beca, it's not just that, it's everything. I'll always be worried. I'll be worried that you won't come home from work or you'll leave when we fight and you just won't come back. I can't live my life worrying I just can't Becs, it's too much."

Beca shook her head and placed a hand on Chloe's back, "Then dont worry. Don't ever worry. I'll do anything and I'll stay by you forever, Chlo. I love you."

Chloe's head whipped to face Beca at the end of her sentence. Her eyebrows raised and her pupils grew. More tears leapt down her face, "I love you too." Beca grabbed Chloe's hands and pulled her so they were face to face. Chloe wiped the tears on her own shoulder, "But how would I ever know?"

Beca swallowed hard, "Because," a hand fumbled into her pocket and she bent down onto one shaking knee. Chloe stared at the girl and her eyes enlarged three times their usual size. Beca pulled a black box from her pocket and tapped on it with one hand, "I've had this for two and a half years. I saw it in a window and I just knew I had to get it. I didn't know why, but I knew I loved you and that I made the biggest mistake of my life. And I think knowing that is why I've carried it around with me for so long..." Chloe continued to cry but this time her hands wrapped around her nose and mouth, "Chloe Beale, I love you. I love you more then anything in my entire life and I screwed up. I screwed up so bad. I hurt you and I will never be able to live that down. But If anything, I want to spend my life trying. I want to be with you. I want to hold you and never let you go. I want to take care of you. I would give anything to be by your side for the rest of my life. I want to be with you forever and never let you go. You are my everything and my whole world. And when I saw you this week I knew with every fiber of being that it would break my heart all over again to watch you walk away as if nothing had happened. I never want to be nothing. I would give anything Chloe."

Chloe put her palms on Beca's shoulders, "Becs, were you asking me something?"

She smiled lightly and Beca gulped, "Chlo, will you marry me?"

Chloe's cerulean eyes were highlighted by the red veins that surrounded them. Her hair was a choppy mess and she was hardly wearing any clothes. Her bangs were dripping over her eyes. Her hands were shaking, "Beca, I would give anything to be your wife."


	17. Chapter 17 - Epilogue

_Epilogue_

The night was misted from an earlier rain and it was like the clouds had fallen to the ground. The fog drifted through the crowd filled with anticipation. The crowd sat in neatly placed white seats set to rows. Above them, the canopy stood strong on top of the boardwalk patio, less than a few feet from the beach. Among the group were the majority of the Bella's of all years, Chloe's extended extended family, and the few strands left of Beca's closest, whether they were friends or family. The talked and laughed as they shared their favorite memories as they waited. All were dressed up in their own unique way.

Inside, in a corner dressing room, Beca couldn't be less ready. Her hair was curled heavily around her perfect cheekbones. Stacy had done her makeup, which looked better then Beca could've imagined. Stacy got the dark navy hues to perfectly blend to the palate she wore most often, but somehow she made it look elegant. Still, Beca stood in front of a mirror with two outfits in hand swapping them back and forth and made different faces as she saw how they looked. Stacy and Amy both rolled their eyes when she did it for the millionth time, "Who knew Beca would be the one who didn't know what to wear." Stacy laughed at herself and Amy nodded.

"Yeah, come on Beca, dress or suit, people are waiting to get started." Amy added.

"I know I know I know okay. I just.. I want it to be perfect." Beca muttered under her breath, regretting her choices of the two girls behind her.

"I thought you weren't into this kind of thing," Stacy smirked in anticipation of Beca's response.

"I'm not, I mean, I'm definitely not, but Chloe is. And I want to make it perfect for her, but I just.. I don't know which one." Beca continued to look at both.

Stacy and Amy got up and Stacy took the hangers out of Beca's hands, "Beca, she's going to love you in either of them, because she's here for you."

Beca nodded in agreement and finally made a choice. The ceremony started as soon as she was dressed and she could hear the music play. Stacy and Amy opened the doors for her and she took a slow step forward. Everyone immediately turned and all eyes were on her. Fully dressed, Beca wore a navy blue strapless dress. Just above her chest, the dress faded to an outline blue of flowers to the edge. Her heels were six inches and black. And as a final touch Stacy braided her curls back and placed a dark blue flower behind her ear. Smiles greeted her smile as Dr. Mitchell approached with his elbow extended to his daughter.

"You look stunning, Becs." Her Dad mumbled as they slowly made their way up the aisle.

"Thank you, you look pretty spiffy yourself." Beca put up a smirk to cover her nervousness.

Dr. Mitchell felt Beca's hand shake and he steadied it with his own much larger one, "Beca, you have done everything I have ever dreamed you would get a chance to do. I want you to know that I am so proud of you. And I am so happy that you found, Chloe. She makes you the happiest I've ever seen you."

Beca finally glanced at her father and they made eye contact. Since they were approaching the end of the isle all Beca could do was nod, hug him tightly as he gave her away, and whisper a thank you in his ear. Jesse and Aubrey smiled at her as she turned around in front of Jesse and the song Beca wrote for the pianist changed octaves. Beca looked to the doors again and watched as Jessica and Emily opened them.

Beyond them Beca could hardly control her jaw from dropping. Chloe walked out of the door and their eyes went straight to one another. Chloe had her hair straightened to her shoulders and a flower tiara placed over top. Her dress was a slim white dress that hugged her in all of the right spots. The dress was a silk material that was perfectly happy and humble like Chloe's personality. Chloe's eyes were shadowed in a gorgeous sunset orange that shown against her pink blush. Chloe couldn't move her eyes from how gorgeous she found Beca in return.

Chloe's dad met her as well as walked her down the aisle. Once they got to the end Chloe hugged him goodbye and took Beca's hand in her own. Their eyes locked and smiles smeared across their faces. Chloe could hardly keep from crying, "Becs, you look gorgeous. I love that dress."

Beca could feel a blush crawling up her neck, "Me? Are you kidding? You are stunning, Chloe. How did I get so lucky?" Beca whispered back.

The affiliate began his speech, but Beca didn't listen until she had to speak. They both stared at one another as they said I do and It was then he asked for her vows. Beca swallowed and took both of Chloe's hands in her own, "Chloe Beale, I've never been good with words or feelings, but you have made me say and feel things I never thought I would. For four years of my life you were right next to me and we fell hopelessly in love and I don't think either of us realized it at first," Beca could here the Bella's laughing in agreement of how oblivious the girls were, "but I'm so glad we did, because you are the one person in the world I could see myself spending the rest of my life with. You're the only person I've ever wanted to. You're my best friend, my family, and my soulmate. I can't believe you've put up with me for so long and I don't know how you deal with my idiocy," Beca tried to ignore the tears forming in her eyes and instead focused on the tears streaming down Chloe. She tried to laugh it off, "but I am so glad you did, Chlo. I can't live without you and I never want to for the rest of eternity. I love you more than I could ever tell you or anyone else."

The affiliate motioned to Chloe, who quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, "Beca Mitchell, I fell for you so many times over. When you stayed with me in bed for a week when I couldn't see straight because I was so sick. When I left my phone at the airport after a show and you drove all the way back two hours to get it for me. I fell for you every time you smiled at me or stood up for me and I knew the day you kissed me that I wanted it to be the last first kiss I ever had. You make my world spin and I never want to get off this ride. You are my other half and you complete every part of me that I have been without for every other year of my life. I couldn't imagine being without you for another day and I am beyond myself that I never have to again. I love you Beca, now and until the end of time. You belong with me and I belong with you."

Tears streamed down both girls faces and both silently thanked Stacy for water proofing their make up. The affiliate continued and both girls were antsy until the moment they were allowed to kiss. Chloe leaned in to Beca and their lips finally connected. Clapping ensued and the girls continued feeling electricity surging through their bodies. They did not disconnect until they absolutely had to.


End file.
